Fudgiest Ever Pumpkin Bread {with brown butter icing}

Oh joy, it is September. The “ember” months. My most favorite four months of the whole entire year. For me, it’s not just the pumpkin spiced everything, although I certainly enjoy that part. It’s the coziness of fall. The boots and the sweaters, the cool weather, the pumpkins, the anticipation of the holiday season, and most of all, the changing colors of the leaves.

I will drive five minutes out of my way to detour my daughter to school down this beautiful flaming maple lined road that is seriously the most gorgeous street ever. I refuse to let my husband chop down a huge, old (arguably dying) maple in our front driveway that’s huge leaves turn bright yellow in September and cover our driveway and yard. And I may or may not have narrowly avoided many car accidents in my life while staring at the beautiful leaves.

Anyway, now that my confessional is over lets talk about this pumpkin bread.

Have you ever seen a description for pumpkin bread before that included the word “fudgy?” Maybe not, but it is truly the only word to accurately describe the texture of this amazing bread. It is so dense and rich and moist, and, well, fudgy. Your family will eat an entire loaf in a day.

Now lets talk about the brown butter icing. EVERY time I make brown butter icing, I say to myself “this is so freaking good, why don’t I make this icing for ALL THE THINGS?” and then I don’t. But I should. It’s so simple and it’s so good you will want to eat it with a spoon.

This recipe makes two loaves, I halved it for one loaf, and the size of my butt is thanking me.

Happy fall, y’all!

Recipe very slightly adapted from Buns in my Oven

Ingredients:

For the bread:

2 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
4 eggs
For the icing:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9×5 loaf pans and line with parchment paper for easy removal.
In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin, oil, and applesauce until well combined with an electric mixer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt, and cloves.
Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
Pour batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean with just a few sticky bits.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack. Cool completely.
While the bread is cooling, add the butter to a small sauce pan over medium heat and let melt. Once melted, continue cooking, whisking often, until the butter foams. When the butter begins foaming, whisk constantly until the butter turns a deep golden shade. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.
Drizzle over the bread.