Delicious Peach Carrot Bread

This fruit nut bread is FULL OF WIN, as far as I’m concerned. It’s chock full of carrots, peaches, and pecans, it only calls for a cup of sugar, and my kids LOVE it. (The adults do, too.) Victory!

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups fresh, ripe peaches
• 3/4 cup freshly grated carrots
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-In medium, non-stick skillet, lightly toast chopped pecans over med-high heat until browned, stirring often. A good way to keep them from burning is to push them all to one side of the skillet with a spatula, then shake them back out to cover the pan. Continue doing this every few seconds until toasted.

-Peel peaches and chop them into small pieces. To make peeling a cinch, blanch them by dropping them in boiling water for 45 seconds. With a slotted spoon, remove them and place in a bowl filled with ice water. Leave in the water for 10-20 seconds, then use a peeler to remove a portion of the peel. The rest of the peel should fall right off as you peel it with your fingers, leaving the peach intact.

-Stir together flour, sugar, cinammon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add peaches, carrots, vegetable oil, milk and eggs. Stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Add nuts and stir again.

-Pour mixture into a lightly greased, 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. (For cakes, breads and muffins, I like spraying with Pam Baking Spray.) Bake 1 hour 5 minutes – 1 hour 10 minutes. Test with a knife or long wooden pick in the center- If it comes out clean, the bread is done!

– Let sit in loaf pan ten minutes, remove to rack or cutting board and let cool 1 hour.

-Enjoy!

Adapted from Southern Living Magazine