With summer still going strong here in Southern California our garden continues to reward us with a bounty of zucchini. Yay! But I still want to usher in the festive feeling of fall even with our hot temps. By this time of year, I’m ready for earthy colors, and fragrances of warm spice with pumpkin flavors so I came up with an idea to incorporate the best of both seasons for a tasty transition into fall with a Zucchini-Pumpkin Bread recipe.

Another reason I decided to create a Zucchini-Pumpkin Bread recipe was because I was inspired to begin my fall baking when I saw the 18 Cavity Mini Loaf pan by Wilton, which is brand spankin’ new this season!  Wow! 18 loaves of bread at once and you’ve got 18 gifts just the right size to say to friends, “I’m thinking of you“, as we go into fall. 

The pan fit perfectly in my oven but it is large, (15″ x 21”) so be sure it will fit in your oven.  Though the pan is stick resistant, I lightly sprayed it with Wilton’s Bake Easy Baking Spray, which is my favorite because I feel the amount of spray is perfect, the nozzle doesn’t clog, and I can find it easily at my store.

For the Zucchini-Pumpkin Bread recipe, I used Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter.  It’s available at Williams-Sonoma and I’ve been buying it for the past few years to spread on toast and to make pumpkin-spice cupcakes.  It’s a seasonal product at the store and online and it’s so delicious with its pumpkin, warm spices, and pecans along with a slight tang of lemon juice but you can substitute canned pumpkin for the pecan pumpkin butter in the recipe, but give it a try because I think you’ll really like it. 

I’ll give you a little heads up tip – after the holidays it goes on sale if it’s still available so you might be able to stock up for next year.  The jars I bought last year had an expiration date of 2016 and I just used my last jar so I need more myself!

My Zucchini-Pumpkin Bread recipe makes 2 standard loaves or 18 mini loaves.  The recipe works perfectly with this pan.

My plans for the loaves are to share and show my gratitude to those who make my life more pleasant and a little easier, like Judy, the helpful UPS lady who is ever patient and helps me fill out paper work when I ship packages, Danny, my salon magician, who gives my roots a “blast to the past” and to my mother-in-love who can share them with her friends where she lives… the list continues.

To wrap up the delicious gifts, I placed one or two loaves in a cello bag and tied it with about five strands of raffia straw in a square knot (right over left, then left over right), trimmed the ends, fanned them out a bit and tucked in a silk fall leaf or a sprig of berries.  I think a simple decoration is best in this case, don’t you?

A-tisket-a-tasket, now you fill a pretty basket…

Who will you share your fall baking with?

More ideas –

p.s. This 18 Cavity Mini Loaf Pan would be perfect for pre-baking mini meat loaves that could be frozen and popped into the microwave or oven for busy nights when you need something quick.  Individual stuffing for the holidays?  Yorkshire pudding, perhaps?  Holiday party favors?

Or, how about gifting a friend who you know makes mini bread loaves during the holidays, (but your friend won’t have this pan yet!), fill some of the loaf spaces with the printed recipe and some of the ingredients – a jar of the Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter, measured dry ingredients, a nutmeg grater and whole nutmegs, with a few mini loaves that you made with your pan.  Wrap it up in cellophane with a big raffia “bow” with a sprig or two of fall foliage!  The possibilities are endless!