Peeps cozying down into the spice bread. Such toasty bottoms! Serve with tons of butter.
Today is Halloween and tomorrow we’ll have to deal with the smashed pumpkins on our porch. Our choices are,reuse or compost, and I vote for taking advantage of the vandals’ hard work and creating a sweet masterpiece from the detritus. Conveniently, the pumpkin has been pre-smashed, thus tenderized and easier to pulverize for spice bread. How thoughtful of those rowdy kids to help us out like this. The Peeps® love to get outside in the crisp fall air and rummage for the good bits. The giggles of glee can be heard around the block. Then after getting chilled and stiff they scurry into the kitchen to “help” with the baking. When the bread is pulled out of the oven, they snuggle in to warm their butts. Happier Peeps you’ve never seen.
This is an excellent snack especially when paired with Hot Piping Peeps Cider. Serve them in front of the fire while playing Scrabble® and burning effigies of the neighborhood thugs.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar (the Peeps prefer organic)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup pumpkin purée (see below)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
- (optional) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Pumpkin purée: cut a pumpkin in half; scoop out the seeds; lie it down on a foil lined baking sheet, skin-side up. Bake at 350°F until soft (45 minutes to an hour-ish). Cool, scoop out the flesh. Or, if you cut the pumpkin into pieces, boil or steam them until tender. Scoop out the flesh. Smash or puree in a food processor or blender.
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda
- Mix the pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together
- Combine dry and wet ingredients
- Stir in the walnuts
- Pour the batter into a well-buttered loaf pan
- Bake 50-60 minutes until a skewer such as that was used in Medieval Peeps on a Pike is poked into the center of the loaf and comes out clean
- Turn out of the pan and let it cool on a rack
- Cut out little Peeps nests and let them wiggle their way into the warmth
Flaming Peeptinis and Other Hot Peeps® Recipes 