No frost on the pumpkin, yet

No frost just yet, but it is a little cooler and definitely looking like fall. I get really strong nesting urges when the weather cools and want to clean and organize the house and cook and bake lots of warm, hearty foods. I sort of skipped over the cleaning and organizing part and went straight to the pantry to get out the ingredients when I found this recipe. I don't know where it came from originally, but it looked like something for fall, so I made it for the first time this week. It is scribbled on a 3 X 5 card, so there is no telling where I got it. This pumpkin coffee cake is so good, we ate it at breakfast, lunch and dinner! (I would have called it a "snack cake" rather than coffee cake, but either way, the recipe is a keeper.) Next time, I will bake it in mini-loaf pans and freeze most of it. That just might slow us down a little bit!

PUMPKIN COFFEE CAKE Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)-toast these after you have chopped them

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup white or yellow cornmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup sour cream

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup dried cranberries

3 Tbs raw sugar

Mix eggs, canola, sour cream and pumpkin in a large bowl. Combine group of dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Stir until ingredients are just incorporated. Stir in cranberries and 2/3 cup nuts. (I baked mine in a 10 X 12 pan, but loaf pans or even muffin tins would work, I think. Just keep an eye on the time. ) Sprinkle 1/3 cup nuts and raw sugar on top and bake for 30-35 minutes. Hope you like it as much as we did!

(These are the mini's I baked this evening. Any guesses as to whether they make it to the freezer or not? HINT: my husband has decided to brew a pot of decaf coffee as I am writing this--wonder why?)