Pumpkin Bread/Muffin recipe

I've had several people ask for the pumpkin bread recipe. So here it is (you can also find it on page 624 of the old version of The Joy of Cooking...however, I have changed it some ( I use both brown and white sugar a different spices)).

Canned pumpkin from scratch:

Cut a pie pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds and string. Place face down on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 deg for 1 hr or until super soft. Scoop out soft pumpkin from shell and blend or put through a ricer to obtain smooth texture. Makes ~ 1 cup "canned" pumpkin (depends on the size of the pumpkin- of course)

Pumpkin Bread

Sift together:
1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/4tsp double acting baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp ginger

In a bowl, beat 2/3 c brown sugar, 2/3c white sugar, 1/3c shortening, and 2 eggs.
Add and beat in 1 c canned pumpkin

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl alternately with 1/3 c milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat only enough to make sure flour mixture/milk is mixed in- don't over beat.

Place in a greased bread pan and back at 350 deg for ~ 1hr. For muffins, place batter in muffin cups and bake (eh.. ~ 20 minutes or so...keep an eye on them).

The Joy of Cooking recipe calls for cloves in the spices, but I used ginger instead...you can vary the amounts of spice based on your personal preferences.

Enjoy!