12 Days of Christmas: Day 4

Here is another quick bread that I'm including in my holiday gift packages. My mom has been making Pineapple Carrot Bread for many years, and always around the holidays. As a kid, I hated carrots (and I still don't really like them that much), but I loved this bread - probably because of all the sugar and oil that covers them up! This bread has such a delicious flavor - the combination of the cinnamon and the pineapple is great. Like most breads of this nature, it tastes more like a cake than a bread, and actually is very similar to the Carrot Cake from the Silver Palate cookbook. Again, I made mini loaves and am freezing them until I'm ready to give them away. That's all for the quick breads in the 12 Days of Christmas - stay tuned for some other tasty treats!!!

Pineapple Carrot Bread

Ingredients:

3 eggs

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable or Canola oil

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated carrots

1 9-ounce can crushed pineapple (drained)

1 cup chopped pecans, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

1. Mix eggs and sugar, then add oil.

2. Add dry ingredients, carrots, pineapple, and nuts, if using. Add vanilla and mix.

3. Spoon into two greased and floured loaf pans and bake for 1 hour (or 6 mini loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes). Note: I used Crisco with flour spray instead of greasing and flouring, and the loaves slid out beautifully!

4. Remove loaves from pans when either warm (onto a cooling rack) or cool. To maintain a crispy top, wrap in aluminum foil and store at room temperature. To freeze, wrap each loaf in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag.

Source: Family friend Gayle W.