By Week 400. Year 8. Tommy is 41. Back to school. The annual transition. Rémy (12) in school, cooking and fishing. Colette (15) in high school, painting. The dinner table conversation getting deeper as the kids get older and the topics shift from homework to life and the shift is the growth and the growth is the point.
Made duck gumbo this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. The chain holds.
Duck gumbo fills the house one way — deep and savory and unmistakably Louisiana — and on the same week I made it, I also found myself reaching for the pumpkin. Rémy and Colette were in and out of the kitchen in that after-school orbit they have, and something about the transition back to the school-year rhythm made me want the oven on with something sweet alongside the pot on the stove. These mini pumpkin loaves are exactly that: small, warm, spiced things that say “fall is here and someone who loves you baked something.” The chain holds in more than one direction.
Mini Pumpkin Loaf Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 32 minutes | Total Time: 47 minutes | Servings: 16 (makes 4 mini loaves)
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease four mini loaf pans (5x3-inch) with butter or nonstick spray and set them on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree, oil, milk, and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until just combined — stop when you no longer see streaks of flour. Do not overmix.
- Fill the pans. Divide the batter evenly among the four prepared mini loaf pans, filling each about 3/4 full. Smooth the tops lightly with the spatula.
- Bake. Bake on the center rack for 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean and the tops are set and lightly domed. Start checking at 30 minutes.
- Cool. Let the loaves cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn them out and let them cool completely before slicing. They slice cleanest when fully cooled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 205 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 31g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 155mg