Pumpkin Spider Bread
Yields: 1 loaf
Ingredients:
1 cup apple cider
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
In a saucepan boil the cider until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup and let it
cool. In a bowl whisk together well the pumpkin puree, the eggs, the oil, the
brown sugar, the zest, and the reduced cider. Into the bowl sift together the
flour, the baking powder, the salt, the baking soda, the mace, the cinnamon,
and the cloves, add the walnuts, and stir the batter until it is just
combined. Transfer the batter to a well-buttered 8 1/2-by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan
and bake the bread in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 1 hour, or
until a tester comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan.
Remove bread from pan and ice with a glaze of 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar and 1 Tablespoon orange juice plus milk or water to thin. Decorate with tiny plastic spiders (I like to use the little rings that come in orange and black during the fall for Halloween treats) as decoration--be sure that you do not allow children to put in their mouths!!