These squash loaves are one of my favorite fall and winter treats. They are super hearty from the chopped nuts and seeds, perfectly spiced and stay most and delicious for days on the counter. This recipe makes two, nice sized loaves which makes it perfect for gift giving. I like to bring one along to holiday parties as a hostess gift, so my generous friends don't have to worry about cooking breakfast for themselves the next morning. This recipe also bakes up beautifully into paper baking molds, which makes it an even cuter gift to give (I have included some resources down below).

Squash Harvest Bread

adapted from the Macrina Bakery Cookbook

yield, 2 9x5 loaves or 6-8 smaller loaves

2 cups roasted squash purée (butternut, red kuri, or kabocha work great and canned pumpkin puree is just fine here too)

1/2c walnut halves

1/2c pecan halves

1c pepitas

2t baking soda

2t baking powder

3 1/2c flour

1/2t nutmeg

1 1/2t cinnamon

1 1/2t salt

1 1/2c light brown sugar

1 1/2c granulated sugar

1c canola oil

4 eggs

3/4c buttermilk

To Toast the Nuts and Seeds

Spread them on a baking sheet in an even layer and bake in a 375º oven for 10-15min or until they are nice and toasty. Cool the nuts completely and chop them medium/fine.

For the Loaves

Turn the oven down to 325º

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Stir in the chopped nuts and seeds, reserving a few tablespoons to sprinkle over the top of the loaves.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the oil and sugars. Mix on medium high for 4min. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the squash puree and mix for another 2 minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined.

3. Alternate adding the flour (3 parts) and the buttermilk (2 parts) and stir gently to combine completely, being careful to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl.

4. Pour the batter into oiled loaf pans, filling them 2/3 full, and sprinkle with the reserved nuts. Bake large loaves for 60min, smaller loaves for 25-35min depending on size. They are done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 20min before unmolding.

Notes

- For gift giving, paper loaf pans like Here are some online resources make sure to search for "paper baking molds".

- Here is a to food52's easy peasy squash roasting technique and video.

- For 2 cups of squash puree, you'll need about a 1 lb squash

Every year around this time I try to take up knitting. I've always wanted to give hand knit hats and scarves and chunky cowls as gifts, but every year I get about 20 rows into the same scarf and give up. Patience for learning new tasks is hard for me to come by these days. The thing is, I really love to give hand made gifts. So after giving up on knitting and purling I inevitably end up in the kitchen stirring boiling hot pots of sugar, rolling out cookie doughs and pulling the sprinkles down from the top shelf to decorate cookie ornaments. Over the years I've built up quite a repertoire of tasty gifts and this caramel corn is one of my favorite snacks to bring to a holiday party. It also looks oh so cute packed up in little jars or bags for party favors. It is salty, sweet with just a hint of heat from the cayenne pepper and it is totally addictive. I use mushroom corn here which is a super fluffy variety of popcorn that is just perfect for holding lots and lots of tasty caramel and can handle the stirring without breaking, but good old fashioned jiffy pop works too.

Spicy Caramel Cashew Corn

yield about 2 quarts of finished caramel corn

3T oil

1/2c popcorn kernels (mushroom corn if you can find it)

2c sugar

3T butter

1T salt

1 1/2t baking soda

1/2t cayenne pepper

1t cinnamon

1/2t freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups salted cashews

To Pop the Corn

Use an air popper OR if you are like me, do it on the stovetop

1. Heat the 3T of oil in a large heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat, drop a few un popped kernels in there while the oil is heating. When the kernels pop, the oil is ready to go.

2. When the oil is hot, toss in the 1/2c of popcorn kernels, put on the lid and shake the pan back and forth a few times to coat all of the kernels with hot oil. As the popcorn pops, shake the pan every 30 seconds or so to prevent the bottom kernels from scorching. Once the time between "pops" slows down to a few seconds, it's done. Immediately turn the popcorn out into a large bowl.

3. When the pop corn is cool, carefully go through and remove all of the un-popped kernels then pour the cashews on top of the popcorn, without stirring them in.

For the Caramel

1. Preheat your oven to 300ºF. Lightly oil 2 wooden spoons or spatulas (these will be used to stir the caramel into the popcorn) and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or lightly oil it (this will be used to cool the caramel covered corn).

2. In a large heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat add the sugar, butter, salt and 1/2c water. Bring the mixture to a boil (without stirring) and let it boil vigorously until it turns a light golden caramel, 10-14min.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the spices and baking soda. The baking soda will make the mixture foam and expand so make sure you are using a large pot. The spices will cause the caramel to darken in color.

4. Immediately and carefully pour the caramel over the popcorn and cashews, grab your oiled spatulas and start gently tossing the mixture together. Keep stirring until the corn and cashews are evenly coated, then turn the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and gently separate the kernels. You don't need to go crazy here, but try to get it in an even layer.

5. Bake the caramel corn for about an hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely before storing an an airtight container.

To give as gifts

Package a few cups of the corn in a mason jar, weck jar, or pretty glassine bag tied with a ribbon and a label.

Notes

- To wash all of your caramel covered bowls, spoons, and pots just soak them in really hot water and all of the sugar will just melt off.

-You can buy your own mushroom popcorn kernels JustPoppin.com quite a few times and their customer service is great, plus I really like their name.