Pear Nut Bread

I am a huge fan of Quick Breads~ Banana Bread, Cranberry Bread, Blueberry Bread, Pumpkin Bread, Scones......the list goes on and on. Quick bread is a type of bread that is leavened with leavening agents other than yeast. Quick breads cover a wide range; from cakes, brownies, and cookies as well as banana bread, beer bread, biscuits, cornbread, muffins, pancakes, scones and soda bread. Some are made with a batter and some are made with a dough. They can be large or small, savory or sweet. The major thing that identifies them is the fact that they are as their name implies, Quick to make~ This bread is so good! It's a delicately spiced fruit bread made with juicy Bartlett pears. The glaze is drizzled on the bread while it is still warm and then allowed to cool completely. It is then wrapped in tin foil, allowed to sit overnight and then sliced the next day~ I enjoyed this bread with orange marmalade:)

Drain pears, reserving syrup; reserve 1 pear half for topping. Process remaining pears in a blender or use an immersion blender, process until smooth; transfer to a 1-cup measuring cup. Add as much of the reserved pear syrup as needed to make 1 cup. Reserve remaining syrup for other use.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and allspice in large bowl. Mix pear puree, oil, egg and orange rind in medium bowl. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in walnuts; batter will be stiff.

Spoon batter into greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pan. Cut reserved pear half into 6 slices; arrange crosswise in a row on top of batter.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack, 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and as much of the orange juice as needed to make a thin, smooth glaze. Remove bread from pan; spoon glaze on top of bread. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap bread in aluminum foil; let stand overnight before slicing.