Quick Breads Great for Quick Snacks
Make Them Ahead of Time and Store in the Freezer

By Nancy Loughin
Observer Food Editor

Take a leisurely stroll down a snack isle at the supermarket and the cake and snack bars will leap into your cart if you are shopping with a child. (Or perhaps a husband who likes to snack.)

From Little Debbies, to Hostess to store brands, they are all look and taste delicious. However, most are loaded with a large dose of saturated fats and salt. Even the popular “low fat” varieties have a huge list of additives, even though they still taste good and will leave you with less guilt.

With two growing boys in my family, I needed a healthy snack on hand after baseball games and karate practice, so I have started making quick breads. While I would prefer that they eat a banana or an orange, or a peanut butter and pure fruit jelly sandwich, they are not particularly thrilled with that idea. They are thinking cake or cookies, the gooey kind. I needed a compromise, and quick. The sweet quick breads are a healthy middle ground, and they certainly cost less than store-bought snacks.

The next challenge was finding time to make them. Most of these recipes are easy to assemble and take about 25 to 30 minutes in the oven. But the best quality is that they all freeze well. So, one Saturday morning, I doubled a batch, baked it and froze what we were not going to inhale in the next 30 minutes.

It worked. The next Saturday morning, I chose another recipe, and did the same, so as the Saturdays went by, we now have an assortment of quick breads in our freezer, ready to go.
Then another superb breadmaker in Herndon, Carrie White, told me about the smaller loaf pans that can be purchased, so that was also part of the next recipe.

We had an assortment of houseguests for two weeks around Easter and I had a whole assortment of breads to serve for breakfasts, with fresh fruit and coffee. It made mornings a lot less stressful, and I could concentrate on what I was going to make for lunches and dinners.

One more hint with quick breads. They will keep best when they are well wrapped and stored in the refrigerator. Just before serving, they can be reheated slightly in a microwave. These breads will quickly go stale or spoil if left unwrapped on a counter. Sealable bags work the best.

Carrie White’s Poppy Seed Bread is our family’s favorite. If you try one recipe, this is the one that your kids will consume in record time. Be sure to make a double batch!

Carrie White’s Poppy Seed Bread
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. butter flavoring
Glaze:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. butter flavoring
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in the bread, beat for 2 minutes when mixed. Grease and flour two loaf pans, and pour mixture into the loaf pans. Bake for approximately one hour, until done in the middle (use toothpick method). For glaze, mix the ingredients and pour over hot bread, while still in loaf pan. Let stand 30 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and keep well wrapped in the refrigerator.

Jalapeno Cornbread
1 1/2 cups yellow corn meal
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup bacon drippings
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 can creamed corn
1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese
3 or 4 jalapenos chopped
Combine all of the above ingredients and pour into a cast-iron black skillet that has been well greased. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Spicy and different, great with homemade bean soup.


Rhubarb Bread
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup oil
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 to 2 cups finely diced rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Mix together sugar and oil, and blend in egg, vanilla and milk. In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda, and add to moist ingredients. Stir in rhubarb and nuts. Divide batter between two well-greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until bread tests done with wooden toothpick. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Makes two loaves.

Darlene’s Best Ever Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 cups loosely packed coarsely grated zucchini
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts
In a bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Beat in sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla. Beat this mixture until thick and lemon-colored. Stir in zucchini. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add to egg mixture and mix well. Fold in chopped walnuts. Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then turn onto rack and cool thoroughly. These loaves also freeze well.

Apple Spice Raisin Bread
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup sugar plus 1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups apples, tart variety, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
5 pecan nut halves
Mix 1 cup sugar and oil. Add eggs, vanilla, apples, raisins, and nuts. Stir and add flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Grease loaf pan and place wax or baking parchment paper across the bottom (this is a very moist cake and can easily break up). Pour the contents into the loaf pan, and bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. After 20 minutes, sprinkle 1 tsp. sugar over the top and place nut halves down the center. Finish baking. Take out and cool on a rack for 20 minutes, then invert and finish cooling. Store in the refrigerator.

Lemon Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. grated fresh lemon rind
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
6 Tbsp. oil
Topping:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Juice of one large fresh lemon
Mix all bread ingredients together, and pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake one hour at 350 degrees or until done by testing with a wooden toothpick. Take a skewer, or a meat fork, and punch several hole in the top when taking it from the oven. Mix sugar and fresh lemon juice together in a small bowl. Drizzle this over the warm bread. Let it stay in the pan for about 30 minutes, until well cooled. Then remove carefully and wrap in an air-tight sealable bag, and refrigerate. Slice and serve when very cold. Tastes even better the second day.