Whip up this pumpkin loaf for a weekend breakfast and then enjoy a few slices throughout the week. A brown sugar-cinnamon swirl throughout the batter and the addition of apple butter gives this simple loaf big fall flavor.

When I saved this “pumpkin cinn-a-zag” bread recipe back in who knows when, I thought it was a pull-apart bread. Remember those loaves that were all the rage back in who knows when? 2012 or so judging from my pins.

Speaking of pins, can we pause for a moment and praise the new Pinterest sections? It’s my inner organizer’s dream come true.

When I heard about “boards within boards” a few months back, I was ecstatic. Categories? Yes, please! Now I can easily see when I’ve saved a half-dozen versions of the same kind of recipe. And I don’t have to sort through, say, yeast bread recipes when I know I want to bake a quick bread.

A quick bread like this pumpkin cinnamon version that I realized, quite quickly, was never a pull-apart bread. The “cinn-a-zag” brought to mind visions of pulling apart a light and airy piece of bread slathered in cinnamon and sugar and pumpkin spice.

Instead, I had just another pumpkin bread on my hands. Truth be told, I’ve always been a little disappointed in the handful of pumpkin breads I’ve baked. Those recipes were a little boring. The flavor a little flat.

Not this one. This one is a keeper.

It reminds me of a coffee cake slice I once made the mistake of ordering at Caribou Coffee. The mistake being that it was so dang good that I wanted to eat it every day, and I doubt that would be good for my waistline.

I managed to control myself and indulge only time to time, but now that I know how to recreate that slice at home in pumpkin form, my waistline is again in jeopardy.

You can’t see it all that well from the photos (especially since I spread a pat of butter over one slice), but there is a solid line of cinnamon sugar swirled into the middle. You could make your line thicker, but I opted to sprinkle half of my cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top.

This loaf also freezes well if you just want to enjoy a slice or two here or there. Good luck with that. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

A pumpkin loaf flavored with apple butter and a brown sugar-cinnamon swirl throughout the batter gives this simple quick bread big fall flavor.

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Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup canola (or other vegetable) oil
• 1/4 cup apple butter
• 1/2 cup milk

For the Ribbon

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a large bowl stir together the dry ingredients (flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt). 
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, canola oil, apple butter, and milk. 
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. 
4. Pour half of the batter into a lightly greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.
5. Stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon needed for the ribbon and sprinkle half (or all) of it over the batter in the loaf pan.
6. Pour the remaining batter over the sugar-cinnamon ribbon and then draw a knife (or spatula or wooden spoon) through the loaf in several directions to create a swirl with the ribbon in the middle.
7. If you only used half of the sugar-cinnamon ribbon in the loaf, sprinkle the rest over the top of the batter.
8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes until the bread is set and a wooden toothpick comes out clean when dipped in the center of the loaf.
9. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, and then turn it out of the pan to finish cooling. Run a knife between the edges of the loaf pan and the bread to loosen the bread before turning out if needed.

Notes

You can sub apple sauce for apple butter if you prefer.

The flavor of this loaf improves after one day as the flavors have time to come together.

If you plan to freeze this loaf, I suggest using the entire sugar-cinnamon ribbon loaf in the center. Doing so will help the thawed bread look a bit nicer and be less messy.

Recipe very slightly adapted from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek.