Pumpkin Streusel Bread and Muffins

These pumpkin muffins are super moist and loaded with wonderful fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. These tasty muffins get topped with a buttery, crunchy brown sugar and oat streusel that sets them apart from your typical muffin. Enjoy these warm or at room temperature and with or without some butter :) I won't judge. I took these to a party and served them with some homemade honey cinnamon butter. I came home with an empty tray.

This recipe can be used to make muffins or pumpkin bread. Both of course, are tasty. I froze most of the muffins to be used for school lunches or to pull out and microwave whenever I get a pumpkin craving! This recipe freezes fantastically and the muffins are just as good after unthawing.

I also made and froze two mini pumpkin streusel loaves that will be enjoyed later or given as a hostess gift. I have loaves of pumpkin streusel bread, orange spice zucchini bread and banana bread in my freezer. That thought makes me happy.

You could leave the streusel off if you just want a simple tasty pumpkin muffin or loaf. It's really good either way.

Inspired by allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Yield:  2 - 7x3 inch loaf pans

or Two mini loaves and 12 muffins

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree 

4 eggs  

1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 oil, 1/2 applesauce)

2/3 cup water or apple juice

1 1/2 cups white sugar 

1 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1 teaspoons salt 

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 7x3 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans. Top with streusel mixture (recipe below).

Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Muffins and mini loaves will be done in about 40 minutes.

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup heaping flour 

1/4 tsp heaping pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup butter, but into cubes

In a food processor pulse streusel ingredients until combine and you can pinch the mixture together with your fingers. You can also mix this by hand with a pastry cutter.

* The original recipe says it makes three 7x3 loaves, but I found it's closer to two loaves. If your two loaf pans are 2/3 - 3/4 full, use the extra batter to make a few mini muffins or regular muffins.