Iced Lemon Loaf

This is a delicious knock-off of a certain coffee chain's lemon loaf. The lemon extract plus the lemon juice make the citrus really shine, and adding the lemon glaze gives one last punch of lemon flavor and ensures the loaf will stay moist!

The ingredient list for this quick bread can easily be found in your pantry, and it's the perfect time to use citrus in baked goods!

Iced Lemon Loaf

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon extract

1/3 cup lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder & soda and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon juice & extract, and oil.  Pour wet ingredients into dry, and mix until smooth.  Pour into a greased 9x5 pan, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients and pour over loaf when cool.

Adapted from Recipe Circus

Cinnamon Buttermilk Bread

This loaf of cinnamon quick bread is super moist and very tender, thanks to the buttermilk.  It has a cinnamon sugar swirl that really puts it over the top.  I multiplied the recipe so I could bake up some smaller loaves to gift, so if that is your plan, you'll want to double the swirl.  Maybe you should double the swirl anyway :)

Cinnamon Buttermilk Bread
makes a 9x5 loaf
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Swirl
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp margarine

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.  Mix wet ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly, then add to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  Prepare the swirl mixture by mixing ingredients and cutting together until crumbly.  Pour half the bread batter into a greased loaf pan, followed by 1/2 the swirl mixture.  Add the rest of the bread batter and the rest of the swirl mixture on top.  Use a knife to swirl the top layer.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Cranberry Bread with Pecans

Fresh cranberries are very deceiving.  They are a beautiful bright red color & wonderfully fragrant.  However, one bite of a fresh cranberry will pucker your mouth right up.  When mixed with some sugar, flour & buttermilk, those tart little cranberries can bake up into a delicious loaf.

The buttermilk is the key to this tender quick bread, along with the orange zest, & the toasted pecans add a nice crunch on top.

Cranberry Nut Bread
recipe from Baking Illustrated


1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2/3 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
1 egg, beaten
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Mix flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda, & salt in a large bowl and set aside.  Combine orange zest, juice, buttermilk, butter, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with spatula just until moistened.  Add cranberries & pecans* being careful not to over mix.  Pour into a greased 9x5 pan.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes.  Cool on wire rack 10 minutes, then remove from pan.

*I did not mix the pecans into the batter, but sprinkled them on top of the loaf before baking.

Pumpkin Bread

Don't tell anyone, but I may be hoarding cans of pumpkin.  Before making this bread, there were no less than 4 cans of pumpkin in my cupboard.  With the pumpkin shortages the past few years, I'm always afraid I'm not going to have any when I need it.  I bought enough last year that I still had 2 cans last me through to this fall ;)

Onto the bread... quick breads are a great treat to bake up because they usually require simple ingredients and are super easy to mix up.

This recipe from Bakingdom made 2 loaves, which was perfect for sharing!  I added a cinnamon streusel topping for a nice crunch, and the inside was perfectly moist.  This will be my new go-to pumpkin bread recipe!

Banana Bread

Even though I already have a go-to banana bread recipe, I still love trying new recipes.  I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the recipes that come out of the Baking Illustrated by Cooks Illustrated cookbook that I bought a few months ago.  With a couple of ripe bananas to use up, I flipped to the recipe & got started.

Banana Bread
from Baking Illustrated

• 2 cups all purpose flour (unbleached) and some for dusting
• 1 1/4 cups walnuts coarse chop (optional - I omitted)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla)
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cool
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the middle position.  If you're going to add nuts, toast them on a baking sheet in the oven for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully.  Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda & salt) in a large bowl.  In another bowl, mash the bananas, and add the yogurt, eggs, butter and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Gently fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, until just combined; the mixture may still be a little lumpy.  Pour into your prepared 9x5 loaf pan (I just used cooking spray) and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean - mine took closer to 65 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Wrap the loaf for storage for up to 3 days.

The result?  Banana bread that had a crusty top, but was perfectly moist inside.  This rose a little higher than my usual recipe, but the taste was very similar.  Either recipe is a winner in my book!