My grandmother, or Mamaw as I knew her, passed away towards the end of last month. The day after she died, I found the notebook where she hand-wrote some of her favorite recipes. (She had thousands of “favorites”, probably, because she loved experimenting in the kitchen and was always trying out something new or tinkering with an existing recipe. But these were the ones she wrote down.)
I have decided to post some of those recipes in an effort to keep her memory alive, because I love and miss her very much. I will also add in metric conversions for international readers and edit a bit for clarity. And so, without further ado, here is Mamaw’s favorite recipe for pumpkin bread.
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup (208 grams) flour
1 1/3 cup (267 grams) sugar
1 teaspoon (4.8 grams) baking soda
¼ teaspoon (1.2 grams) baking powder
¾ teaspoon (4.5 grams) salt
½ teaspoon (1.3 grams) cinnamon
¼ teaspoon (0.53 grams) cloves
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup (76 grams) butter, melted
1/3 cup (79 grams) water
1 cup (225 grams) pumpkin
½ cup (approx. 63.3 grams) total nuts, raisins, and shredded coconut (adjust to taste)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease one large or two small loaf pans.
2. Sift together first seven ingredients.
3. Combine next four ingredients and add to flour mixture.
4. Fold in nuts, raisins, and coconut.
5. Pour into prepared pan(s).
6. Bake for one hour.
7. Cool in pan a few minutes before serving.
I blazed this post, but I’m still absolutely blown away by the response. I paid the minimum because I can’t really afford much more as a college student, and I was expecting about a hundred notes at most. Instead, I got over a thousand. Hundreds of people reblogging this, promising to make it in honor of my Mamaw, sending me their condolences, offering me tips on doing the metric conversions. Thank you all. So much.
I would like to add in some tips on making this recipe for different dietary restrictions (food sensitivities, allergies, vegan diet, etc.) as well. Many people in my family have them, so I do have some experience in the matter. (It’s another reason that Mamaw liked experimenting in the kitchen, to make sure that all her loved ones could eat her food and still have it be tasty.)
Most types of gluten-free flour substitute should work in this recipe. The butter may be substituted for dairy-free margarine or plant butter with no issues. The mix-ins of nuts and coconut may simply be left out, with raisins making up the difference. Someone wrote in the tags that they were going to try this recipe with chocolate chips instead, which sounds lovely. (Look for allergy-friendly chocolate chips if you need to.) The real challenge would be finding a substitute for the eggs. Commercial egg substitute should work well if you can find it. Otherwise, one of your best options would be to make an egg substitute out of chia seeds. Here’s a tutorial on how to do that: link.
In closing, here is a picture of the woman herself, baking cookies with me in 2019. Love you, Mamaw. May your food continue to bring joy to people.
