Ellie Krieger’s Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries
Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries

(Makes 8 servings)
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 1 cup fresh whole cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, honey, oil, eggs, and egg white until well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing just enough to combine evenly. Gently stir in the cranberries.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is browned and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1-inch thick slice)
- Calories: 290
- Total Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 290 mg
- Carbohydrate: 45 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 5 g
Copyright 2011 Ellie Krieger. All rights reserved
Spotted Dog
Serve up a slice of leprechaun luck on St. Patty’s Day or any day you choose with this traditional recipe for spotted dog from popular food and travel writer Margaret Johnson’s latest cookbook, Flavors of Ireland (Ambassador International, $19.99). Often called Irish soda bread in the U.S., the sweet bread is even more delicious with a cup of tea—or a spot of whiskey.
Spotted Dog

Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups raisins
- 3 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- Softened butter for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 9-inch round baking pan.
- In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Make well in center and stir in eggs, buttermilk, and butter.
- Transfer dough to prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour or until top is golden and skewer inserted into center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes and then invert bread onto rack, and let cool completely before slicing. Serve slices spread with butter.
Green Onion Spoonbread
Not much needs to be added to this luscious, moist spoonbread—it is delicious simply with green onions and cheese as an accent. But your imagination can run wild without much risk. Add an abundant herb or another of your favorite ingredients.
Green Onion Spoonbread
(Makes 8 to 10 servings)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal
- 1 ⅔ cups whole milk
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 4 eggs, separated
- ¼ cup finely chopped green onions, green and white parts
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Directions
- Butter 9×13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Add 3 tablespoons cornmeal to dish and tilt dish to coat bottom and sides with cornmeal. Set baking dish aside.
- Combine milk, cream, buttermilk, salt, and pepper in medium saucepan, and bring just to a boil. Whisk in 1 cup cornmeal and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and has consistency of grits, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately transfer mixture to heatproof bowl. Stir in cheese, and set bowl aside until mixture is lukewarm, stirring often to prevent skin from forming on top, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Then stir yolks, green onions, thyme, baking soda, and baking powder into cornmeal mixture.
- Combine egg whites and sugar in mixing bowl, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold ⅓ of whites into cornmeal mixture to lighten it. Then gently fold in remaining whites, taking care not to deflate whites.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish, and bake until spoonbread is puffed and golden brown on top, and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
The Saturday Evening Post’s New Year’s Recipe Challenge: And the Winner Is…
Thank you, dear readers, for submitting your delicious recipes for The Saturday Evening Post‘s New Year’s Recipe Challenge. We enjoyed tasting our way to a winner—a satisfyingly rich dessert packed with protein and our favorite ingredient, dark chocolate.
Congratulations Elana Amsterdam of Boulder, Colorado for passing our editors’ picky-palate test.
If you have a yummy recipe you’d like to share with our readers, send it to us at [email protected].
Gluten-Free Brownies

(Makes about 24 brownies)
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 (16) ounce jar salted almond butter, smooth roasted
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup dark chocolate 73%
Recipe Preparation:
1. In a large bowl, blend almond butter until smooth with a hand blender
2. Blend in eggs, then blend in agave and vanilla
3. Blend in cocoa, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
4. Grease a 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish
5. Pour batter into dish
6. Bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes
Per brownie:
203 calories
17 g fat
4 g saturated
10 g monounsaturated
3 g polyunsaturated
5 g protein
10 g carbs
2 g fiber
18 mg cholesterol
186 mg sodium
For more about Elana Amsterdam, visit her blog at elanaspantry.com.
Banana Bread Recipes
My family loves bananas; we eat two bunches a week, so it’s rare we have overly ripe, darkly spotted bananas around for baking. Last week, we overbought just so we could make banana bread. I love the below recipe because the bread comes out very moist, yet dense, with just the right amount of banana flavor complemented with chocolate chips.
I have no idea where I found this recipe. It’s scribbled on white printer paper in barely legible handwriting.
Banana Bread
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 2/3 cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 325º. Butter a loaf pan. (Mine is 9 by 5 by 3 inches.)
2. In a small bowl, stir flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until mixed. Beat in bananas, yogurt, and vanilla.
4. Mix in flour mixture on low until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into loaf pan.
5. Bake about 50-60 minutes, until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.