Peaches and Cream Carrot Bread

Yesterday my mother-in-law gave me a bag full of fresh-picked peaches, ripe and ready to eat. I wanted to make something with them out of stuff I had on hand. With my littlest one being sick this past weekend, I didn't feel up to a trip to the store for special ingredietns. That and my grocery budget doesn't replenish until the 1st of next month. So... since I pretty much always have enough stuff to whip up some bread, that's what I decided to do. I love spiced breads with veggies hidden inside. They are so much healthier than donuts, danishes, etc. yet still satisfy that sweet tooth. I think you're going to love this recipe. It's a great way to use up peaches that are on their last day.

Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking power
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cooking oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups diced fresh peaches

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup fresh shredded carrots


Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans.

2. In a large bowl beat eggs, add sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Fold in peaches, cream and carrots.  Add dry ingredients until thoroughly moistened.

4. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350˚ for 1hr.

Yield: 2 loaves

You might also like my Pineapple Zucchini Bread and my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

Pineapple Zucchini Bread Recipe

This is an amazing zucchini bread recipe I got from a lady named Helen Brookman who lovingly passed along her recipes, with the help of the Hospice of The Rapidan. My mom handed the recipe on to me with a few of her own touches. Everyone says this is the best zucchini bread they've ever had. It really is very good and I think what makes it is the pineapples and, believe it or not, the salt. Enjoy!

Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking power
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cooking oil
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups shredded zucchini
1 8oz. can crushed pineapples

Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans.

2. In a large bowl beat eggs, add sugar, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in zucchini and pineapple, stir in dry ingredients until moistened.

3. Spoon into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 325˚ for 1hr 15 mins.

Yield: 2 loaves

You might also like my Peaches and Cream Carrot Bread and my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

Eggless Banana Bread

Here another excellent eggless recipe from my friend and awesome mom, Heather. Her son is allergic to eggs so she's been cooking up all sorts of recipes without eggs so he doesn't have to feel left out. Told you she was awesome!

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar 
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon
2 large or 3 small very ripe bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts 

1. In large bowl mix shortening, sugar and brown sugar.

2. Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.

3. Mash bananas and mix in vanilla extract. Add nuts.

4. Spoon into greased baking dish; bake at 325˚ for 1hr. Serve cooled topped with butter.


Yield: 1 loaf

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

I got the idea to put chocolate chips in banana bread from my sister-in-law. She loves sweets and has got me hooked on adding chocolate chips to pancakes and now to banana bread. I'd heard of using applesauce in baking before and thought that'd be a win-win way to cut the sugar in half while keeping the bread sweet and adding moisture. The crushed pineapples in my favorite zucchini bread recipe makes it amazingly moist, sweet and delicious so I thought applesauce would serve that same purpose here. Here's how to whip up your own batch:

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup apple sauce

As you can see, you'll need 3 bowls.
(Pardon my brown bananas. I waited
a little too long to use them but actually
they tasted fine so it's a great use for
bananas that are past their prime.)

Directions
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, pecans and chocolate chips. In a large bowl beat eggs with sugar, add butter and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in bananas and applesauce. Stir in dry ingredients and chocolate chips until moistened.

Spoon into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325˚ for 1hr.

Yield: 1 loaf

You might also like my Pineapple Zucchini Bread and my Peaches & Cream Carrot Bread.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

The Hot Cross Buns were a success! They took a lot longer to make than anticipated, but I got to spend Mother's Day baking with moms and that was awesome. (I couldn't find currants so I ended up using dates and golden raisins).

1 cup milk, scalded*
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1 yeast cake** dissolved in
1/4 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup currants

Frosting:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp warm milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

*Heat milk in microwave for 2 minutes. Combine sugar, salt, butter and milk. When lukewarm, add dissolved yeast cake. **(1 yeast cake = 1 pack of yeast) Add egg and mix well. Sift flour and cinnamon together and stir into the yeast mixture. Add currants and mix thoroughly. Cover and let rise until double in size. Shape into large biscuits and place on well-buttered pan. Let rise. Beat 1 egg brush tops of each biscuit. Make a cross on each biscuit with sharp knife or kitchen scissors. Make at 400˚ for 20 mins.

Blend frosting ingredients thoroughly and fill X's on buns with icing. Tip: Put frosting in a zip lock bag and cut a small hole in the corner to dispense.

In case you were wondering, here are the lyrics for the Hot Cross Buns nursery rhyme:

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns