Over the weekend, I took a very quick journey up to Boston, MA to visit with family. Definitely much too short of a visit but it was very enjoyable for the amount of time I had. Also, per their request I baked up something to come along with me and it was this bread. It traveled really well in my carry-on luggage, and as a bonus made all my clothes smell yummy!

I know there have been a lot of pumpkin cream cheese muffins/breads around the web these days, but trust me you need to try this one! The Biscoff compliments the pumpkin incredibly well (and now I may need to experiment with other baked goodies), and was more than half gone shortly after I arrived.

…Is it just me, or does the bread look like it has walnuts for eyes and cream cheese for a nose and smile? Happiest looking bread I’ve ever seen.

PUMPKIN BISCOFF CREAM CHEESE BREAD

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

FILLING

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup Biscoff spread

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

BREAD

1- 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1-1/4 cups pumpkin puree

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 -1/2 cups sugar

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

STREUSEL

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp ground Biscoff cookies

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp softened butter

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pans. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, Biscoff spread, sugar, flour, egg, and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside. In a large bowl, blend flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. In another medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, canola oil, eggs and sugar; beat well. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. Fold in the chopped pecans or walnuts.
2. Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter evenly into the two prepared loaf pans. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of the pumpkin batter layers in each loaf pan and then spoon or pour  on the remaining pumpkin batter (if you don’t have enough pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese layer entirely, that’s okay, because you’ll be swirling them together anyway). Take a knife and stick straight down into the top pumpkin batter layer and middle cream cheese layer; swirl the knife around in these two layers, creating a marble effect; this will give the cream cheese filling a nice swirly shape as it bakes.
3. Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, while the bread is cooking prepare streusel topping. Place sugar, cinnamon, ground cookies, brown sugar, nuts and butter in a mixing bowl. Use a fork and press butter into sugar mixture until crumbly. After the bread has baked for 40 minutes remove and top each evenly with the strudel. Place back into the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes or until streusel is bubbly and bread is cooked through (toothpick inserted in center of the loaf comes out clean). Remove from oven, then cool bread in pans for 10 minutes; remove to a rack to cool completely.