I always try to find a way to incorporate veggies and fruits in my baked goods. I love a good thick slice of homemade quick bread filled with shredded veggies or cut up fruits or berries. I have this lovely Zucchini Bread recipe, that uses a lot of different add-ins that make this interesting. And, my go to Lighter Banana Bread. Not only that they’d last me at least few days, they are filling in the morning for a quick breakfast. I have been looking for a good recipe to use up carrot and decided that this was a good one to try.

This recipe was pretty interesting because it calls for cold butter being mixed into the dry ingredients with a food processor. I really wanted to see how much of a different this technique would make. I am really used to quick bread where I can just whip everything up with a bowl and a spatula!  I used white whole wheat flour, substituted the almond milk the original recipe calls for with whole milk, and added almond extract (although I think 1 tsp was too much, I was missing the carrot flavor! See note below, I’d use 1/2 tsp next time). I also only had 1/4 cup left of slivered almond and that added a nice crunch to this beautiful bread. A little bit more would have been great, although I may just stick with 1/4 cup or none all together if you have a toddler in the audience. I was in the middle of painting my daughter’s room when I put this oven, so I didn’t hear the timer going off at the 60-min mark. I am guessing that it was beeping, calling for me for at least another 5-10 over! However, I was so thrilled when I took it out, and it was perfect! The texture was a lot smaller/more delicate and softer than most quick breads, with a very nice firmness to it. I think you can easily slather some honey butter or softened cream cheese with cinnamon on top… and voila! You have a perfect treat anytime of the day!

Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold butter, plus butter for the pan
2 cups white whole wheat flour, or all purpose flour, or 1-1/4 cups all-purpose, 1/2 cup whole wheat, and 1/4 cup course wheat bran
1 cup brown sugar (golden or dark)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk (or use almond milk, if you prefer)
1 tsp almond extract (next time, I’d probably reduce this to 1/2)
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 egg
1 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or more if you’d like, up to 1 cup)

Directions
Heat the oven to 350d F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter.

Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into bits, then use a fork, 2 knives, or your fingers to cut or rub it into the dry ingredients until there are no pieces bigger than a small pea. (You can use a food processor for this step, which makes it quite easy, but you should not use a food processor for the remaining steps or the bread will be tough.)

Beat together the milk, zest and egg. Pour into the dry ingredients, mixing just enough to moisten; do not beat and do not mix until the batter is smooth. Fold in the fruit and the nuts, then pour and spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing the bread from the pan.

Yield: 1 loaf

Slightly adapted from Mark Bittman