Growing up, my mom made a quick bread almost every Sunday morning. The easy loaf makes for a sweet breakfast, but can also serve as a hosting refreshment or a neighborly gift. The most popular quick breads are banana bread and zucchini bread, but really there are so many options for every taste, aching to be made in any season. So whether you prefer a fruity bread, or an almost cake-like chocolate zucchini bread that causes my father-in-law to ask “Are you sure you put zucchini in this?” every time, here are some of my favorites to share:
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
¼ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
¼ canola, vegetable, or melted and slightly cooled coconut oil
¾ packed light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1½ cups packed shredded zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. You might have a few small brown sugar clumps and that is fine.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, don’t overmix. Stir in the shredded zucchini until just combined. Stir in ¾ cup of the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Don’t mind melted chocolate chips, you just don’t want gooey batter.
- Remove pan from oven and set on wire cooling rack. Let cool in the plan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove from the pan. (Strips of baking parchment paper might help with removal.) Let bread cool until slightly warm before cutting and serving.
Plum Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup pitted, chopped plums
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
½ cup butter
1 cup white sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
⅓ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
¼ cup brown sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Sprinkle chopped plums with 1 Tbsp flour in a bowl, toss to coat, and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter, white sugar and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. In another bowl, sift together 1 ½ cups flour with salt and baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, alternating with yogurt until the mixture forms a smooth batter. Lightly stir in flour-coated plums, and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 10-15 minutes before serving.
Coconut Bread
Bread:
4 Eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup oil
2 tsp coconut flavoring
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat together eggs, sugar, buttermilk, oil and coconut flavoring. In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, coconut and nuts. Add the liquid mixture and mix well. Pour into two greased loaf pans and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Glaze:
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp coconut flavoring
In a saucepan, boil sugar, water and butter together for five minutes. Stir in coconut flavoring. Pour the glaze over the hot loaves.
Poppy Seed Bread
Bread:
3 cups flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1½ tsp baking powder
2½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ tsp almond extract
1 cup oil
Mix together in order. Beat for two minutes. Pour into greased and floured pans (two large or three medium). Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes
Glaze:
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp almond extract
½ tsp vanilla extract
Juice from one lemon
½ tsp lemon peel (optional)
Glaze while warm and let cool in pans.
This article was originally published in Utah Style & Design. Discover more of what to eat and drink in Utah. And while you’re here, subscribe and get six issues of Salt Lake magazine, your guide to the best of life in Utah.
