These are perfect gifting loaves for a holiday love gift. The combination of pumpkin and banana is not only great flavor, but also ensures a moist delicious loaf. Make sure to use overripe bananas for this recipe. You could easily substitute blueberries in this recipe, but the cranberries give it a burst of seasonal flavor. You will notice that I cooked the cranberries just a bit before adding to the loaves. I think it mitigates the raw texture and brings out the tart flavor a bit.

I see some leftover pumpkin purée with a tablespoon of butter and a bit of maple syrup to make a delicious spread for the bread! Thank you Geoff Marchant for the homemade Vermont Maple Syrup 🍁

Yield: 4 6X3 mini loaves

Ingredients:

for loaves:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 very ripe, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 cup)
  • 3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs, beaten lightly
  • 6 Tablespoons neutral oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

for cranberries:

  • 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
  • 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

In a small saucepan, add gram berries and sugar and heat to medium low. Stir the cranberries frequently until sugar dissolves and cranberries just begin to burst and release their juices (about 3-5 minutes). Set aside while you prepare your batter.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 4 mini loaf pans with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, pumpkin purée, buttermilk, eggs, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Gently fold in prepared cranberries and mix until evenly distributed in batter. Divide the batter into the prepared baking pans. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean. Liberally sprinkle the sugar on top as soon as loaves are removed from oven (optional)

Allow loaves to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Enjoy!