Streusel Topped Pumpkin Bread with Apples

I love to look through my recipe box and see all of my old handwritten recipe cards.  Some are from my mom, some from friends of my mom and Dan's mom that were given to me when we got married.  I have recipe cards from old friends from the various places we've lived, and newer friends, but the cards that are the most special to me are those from my Nanny.  When she passed away I knew I wanted her recipe box, a little piece of her to keep near.  A lot of her recipes I don't even make, they seem so old fashioned to me. I do love to look at them and think of all the family dinners we shared when I was younger. 


Looking at my recipe box made me think of my recipes, which are mainly on my computer.  I do have a notebook where I keep the recipes for Supper Club, but a lot of those are printed from the computer.  Some are scrawled on a piece of scrap paper and some are written on recipe cards.  I have decided to do "cookbooks" for each of my kids for when they leave home.  It used to seem like that was so far away, but it's coming up quicker that I would like. I'm going to write each recipe by hand, and I'm not going to wait until they get married or move into their first apartment after college.  I want the cards to be yellowing like those in my box, and I hope they remember all of our favorite meals as a family as well.  I hope they will get the same joy looking at them as I have gotten looking at my box.


My pumpkin bread recipe comes from a neighbor who lived by us in Oklahoma when Dan was in the Navy.  I have used this recipe ever since she brought us a loaf to welcome us to the neighborhood.  The recipe card is written in her handwriting and I think about all the great times we had when we lived there every time I pull out the card to make the bread.  It is a great pumpkin bread recipe.  I love that it makes two loaves, because if you're going to take the time to make one, why not make two!  It freezes beautifully. Over the years I added the apples and the streusel topping for something different, but a lot of the time I just make the basic recipe.  If you want just plain pumpkin bread, just omit the apples and the topping, and it is still moist and fabulous.

Streusel Topped Pumpkin Bread with Apples


3  1/3  cups flour
4  teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2  teaspoons baking soda
1  teaspoon baking powder
1  1/2 teaspoons salt
2  2/3  cups sugar
2/3  cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
2/3 cup water
1/2  cup chopped Pecans
2  cups apples, peeled and finely chopped


Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup flour
3  tablespoons brown sugar
2  tablespoons cold butter


Sift together flour, pumpkin pie spice, soda, powder and salt.  Set aside.  Beat together sugar and oil until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Beat in pumpkin.  Add dry ingredients alternately with water to dry mixture.  Stir in pecans and apples.  Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. 


In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and butter.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter.


Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55 - 60 minutes or until tester comes out clean when inserted into center of the loaf.


Enjoy!


Kim

Shared at these great parties:
Gooseberry Patch Your Pick of the Pumpkins