Pumpkin Bread (or muffins, if you must)
Combine:
3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup applesauce
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
In a separate bowl, combine:
3 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg (I would use less, like 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. I don't like too much nutmeg)
2 tsp baking soda
sift dry ingredients, then add wet to dry, stirring only until combined.
Add:
2/3 cup milk
1 3/4 cups pumpkin (canned - just a regular size can)
Add half the milk, mix, then add half the pumpkin, and mix again. Then add the rest of the milk, mix, then add the rest of the pumpkin, and mix.
Fold in:
1 cup chopped nuts
If you like raisins (YUCK!), you could add them at this point.
Pour into an oiled loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20(?) minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
NOTE: I'm thinking that 20 minutes seems like way too short of a cook time. Is that a misprint from when I typed this the first time? I don't remember since it has been over a year since I made this recipe. I'm betting that cook time would be closer to an hour. In any case, I never set a timer when I bake, I just always check for doneness (not a word, really, but you know what I mean). This recipe gets very very brown on the outside, almost burnt. But, if you take it out too soon, then you will have a doughy center. I suppose you could cover it with foil halfway through the cook time, to prevent excess browning. Or, alternatively, you could just sidestep the loaf thing all together and make muffins. Shorter cook time and less chance of burning.
In the pictured loaf, I was trying to be clever and make a cream cheese filling. It (the filling) wasn't too impressive, so I'm only giving the original recipe without the filling. I only tell you this so you will know what that cream colored streak is in the pictured slice.
Edited to add: Now I remember! The 20 minutes of cook time was for the muffins, duh! The recipe originally was for muffins, and I forgot to change the cook time to reflect that. Well, I'm slow, 'cause that was a no-brainer. :)
So, cook the muffins for about 20 minutes, and cook the loaf for about an hour.