Pumpkin Gingerbread with Orange Glaze

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Pumpkin Gingerbread with Orange Glaze

star rating (14) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

You can either make this gingerbread as a loaf or muffins. Either way, the orange glaze adds the perfect finishing touch!

3/4 cup (6 ounces) butter or vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cup (9 ounces) brown sugar
2 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup (2 ounces) crystallized ginger, minced
1/2 cup diced pecans or chocolate chips (optional)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) molasses
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare your pans -- grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans for loaves; if you're making muffins, grease 24 muffin cups or line them with muffin papers.

Mix: In a large bowl beat together the butter and brown sugar until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, ginger, and nuts, if you're using them, then mix well -- the batter will look crumbly. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in both the molasses and the pumpkin until they are evenly distributed. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, if you're using them. Scoop the batter into the greased loaf pans or the muffin cups -- filling the cups about 2/3 full.

Bake: Bake the muffins in the preheated 350°F oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until they are lightly browned on the edges and the middle springs back when touched. Bake the loaves at the same temperature for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes before taking it out of the pan(s). Let it cool a bit then glaze, if you like (see below). Yield: 2 loaves or 24 muffins.

Orange Glaze

    1 1/4 cup (5 ounces) confectioners' sugar
    1/8 teaspoon tangerine oil or orange oil OR 1 tablespoon orange zest
    2 tablespoons (1 ounce) water or milk
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all the glaze ingredients until smooth, adding additional liquid, a bit at a time, until the glaze has the consistency of molasses or will drizzle from a spoon in a long strand.

For a shiny finish, brush the glaze over the bread or muffins while they're still warm; for a thick white finish, cool the bread completely before glazing.

Reviews

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  • star rating 12/17/2011
  • lfleur from KAF Community
  • Made the Pumpkin Gingerbread today. What a great recipe! Very moist and just the right amount of spice. You really don't taste the pumpkin. Doubled the recipe, used butter, and substituted molasses for part 1/8 of the sugar. Was a little short on crystallized ginger so used 1 tsp ground ginger. Also used home grown fresh cooked pumpkin. And pecans too. Used mini loaf pans for Christmas gifts
  • star rating 04/15/2011
  • Jenni123 from KAF Community
  • I love this recipe. I followed the recipe exactly except that I added about 2 T. of milk. My batter seems a little too dry and this did the trick. I also added about five minutes to the cook time. The muffins didn't seem done after the first 20 min. I will certainly make these muffins again and again. They are a new family favorite. Thanks for this recipe.
  • star rating 03/06/2011
  • robertssl from KAF Community
  • Yummm! I made this with 1 3/4 AP flour and (about) 1 cup whole wheat flour. Didn't have allspice so I left it out. Used fresh nutmeg. Instead of store bought pumpkin, I used 1 quart home canned butternut squash (drained) - this is probably more than the called for 15 ounces but I think it just made the bread more moist. The squash was cubed and I didn't puree it before adding, just mixed with hand mixer. Will make again!
  • star rating 01/04/2011
  • scoobydoobydoo from KAF Community
  • moist and delicious. i loved the glaze. i made it in a bundt pan and it came out perfect!
  • star rating 12/26/2010
  • BeckyCharms from KAF Community
  • I baked this in individual snowflake and christmas tree dishes from Michael's, and it took 30-40 min. @ 325 deg. F...the cake/loaf was so dense, moist, flavorful, and delicious. It made perfect coworker presents. It was the first time I'd ever tasted or worked with crystallized ginger, but it made all the difference in the batter. It enhanced the flavor tremendously. I baked this a second time yesterday for Christmas presents, and didn't have the whole amount of the crys. ginger, so I used a T. of the ground ginger, and although it didn't taste as bold as the first time I made it, it actually tasted more like pumpkin. It was still soooooo good. I used the glaze with orange zest both times, and everyone ate it all up...every last crumb. Mmmm. This will be a friends and family favorite forever!!
  • star rating 12/12/2010
  • countrygramma from KAF Community
  • This recipe receives more than five stars for sure, these are the best ever. Thanks KAF!
  • star rating 12/05/2010
  • booknut245 from KAF Community
  • I made this recipie and it was an instant favorite. I used the Barry Callebaut semi sweet chocolate chips, and I thought the amount was perfect. I didn't have any orange oil, and not a fan of the zest. I remembered I have Fiori di Sicilia and I used that instead. Wow, it was fantastic! I am making this for "graze" day at work and co-workers are really looking forward to it!
  • star rating 09/16/2010
  • nlstudebaker from KAF Community
  • Absolutely delicious. The glaze not only takes these muffins "up a notch" the muffins look more professional and pretty! These have a layering of flavors which really works well! Like another comment, I do think it needs more than the alloted amount of nuts or chocolate chips. I used the mini chocolate chips. Highly recommned. I used a small amount of White Lilly flour (I ran out of my KA unbleached white - how could I let that happen?) and the muffins had an incredibe velvet like texture.
  • star rating 03/05/2010
  • Journey from Virginia
  • I made these muffins in the coffee shop where I bake and the only change I made was to make them vegan by using vegan margarine and egg replacer. I made the glaze with orange oil and orange juice mixed with the confectioner's sugar which drizzled beautifully over slightly warm muffins. These were a huge hit and were snapped up in a flash. They go in the keeper file! Thank goodness KAF comes in giant food-service bags!!!
  • star rating 02/16/2010
  • Beth from VA
  • I made this recipe into 2 loaves (8-1/2 x 4-1/2).. Next time I make this, I might use slightly smaller loaf pans. I think the glaze really added to this. I drizzled and brushed it on as soon as I took the loaves out of the pan. Although this is very good, I think it would be even better with mashed sweet potatoes, and I wonder how those orange-flavored cranberries or golden raisins would work. I agree with a previous reviewer: there were not enough nuts in this recipe. I also upped it to 3/4 cup.
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