12 Days of Christmas: Day 3

My parents have lived in the same house since before I was born, and they've had the same next-door neighbor, Lois, the entire time. Lois is one of the sweetest women you'll ever meet, and occasionally she would bring us gifts - whether a craft that she made or a delicious treat like this amazing Poppy Seed Bread. Each year, a few days before Christmas we start expecting Lois to knock on the door with this bread in hand. She was kind enough to share the recipe with us several years ago, and it's one of my favorite quick breads. I make it every Christmas to give away as gifts. This year, I've used my mom's mini loaf pans and will include one in each of my holiday gift packages. The bread also freezes well, and since I have taken on a lot of baking this year, I have made my loaves early and frozen them, so they will still be fresh in two weeks when I've ready to give them as gifts. The only downfall of freezing the bread is that you lose the crispiness of the top.

I really can't tell you how good this bread is - it's so moist and flavorful - the almond extract adds such a delicious flavor. I don't recommend skipping the drizzle - it soaks into the bread and really adds moisture and sweetness. You will not be sorry if you make this!!!

Poppy Seed bread

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

2 2/3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons butter extract

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

For the drizzle:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon butter extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

1. To the beaten eggs, add sugar, milk, oil, vanilla, and extracts, flour, salt, baking powder, and poppy seeds. Mix together.

2. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes, or a little longer, until a wooden stick/toothpick inserted comes out clean (or use 6 mini loaf pans and bake for approximately 45 minutes). Note: I used Crisco with flour spray instead of greasing and flouring, and the loaves slid out beautifully!

3. Either remove loaves from pans now or you can wait. Prepare drizzle and pour over bread while warm. When cool, if you haven't already, remove loaves from pans. 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: My parents' neighbor Lois W.