Canning Jar Bread

* I found this recipe in a cook book a couple of weeks ago and tried it out. . . It worked great! I shipped a couple of jars of pumpkin bread to our son in Iraq and to our son in college and gave a couple of jars to our future son-in-law stationed at Ft. Hood. . .All gave rave reviews, so I wanted to pass it on. I haven't used this method with other quick bread recipes but it should work. . .. hope you enjoy it!

Canning Jar Bread
2/3 c. shortening
2 ½ cup sugar

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. ground cloves

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

2 cups pumpkin

3 ½ cups flour

1 cup pecans (optional)

Wash and dry 8 pint size (wide mouth) canning jars. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and water. Beat well and add pumpkin. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Fill jars ½ full. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test with toothpick. When done, remove one jar at a time from the oven. Leave oven on to keep jars hot or they may not seal. Put scalded lid on the jar and seal. If bread rises above the rim of the jar, press it down with the lid and seal. It shrinks a little when cooling. When jars have cooled, the lids should be depressed slightly, indicating properly sealed jars. If you vary the ingredients or use a different recipe, you may not get 8 pints of bread. Bread will keep up to one year.

Variations on this recipe: instead of pumpkin, substitute 2 cups of one of the following: apple sauce, whole cranberry sauce, shredded apples, bananas, shredded zucchini, or shredded carrots.

Great idea for gifts for friends, family or teachers. The best thing is that they can be made in advance. . .Add a small jar of homemade jelly or a little bottle of honey in a gift bag or basket for a special gift with a homemade touch!