Before I started my massive cookbook collection and before food blogs stormed the internet, my main source of recipes was Cooking Light Magazine. I used to carefully scour page after page of this monthly magazine and rip out recipes even when I was in grade school. I remember making their marshmallow peanut butter brownies for my 4th grade birthday treat (with a little help from my mom, of course). And here we are,15 years later and I am still a huge fan of Cooking Light. From easy dinner recipes to decadent (but healthy!) desserts, I am pretty much a lifelong fan. And this recipe for Almond Quick Bread is yet another Cooking Light Recipe. The bread tastes rich and decadent and is full of almond flavor, yet it is low in sugar, fat and calories. That’s a win-win in my book. I recently made this bread for “my big girlfriend” Alexandra, because she just had her adorable new baby, Alex…who by the way, is pretty much the cutest baby in the world. This recipe is great to give as a gift and a perfect feature at a Sunday Brunch. So next time, skip the decadent bakery bread and try out this recipe- you definitely will not regret it. Enjoy!
Ingredients: Makes 1 loaf, Recipe from Cooking Light
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 7oz package of almond paste
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
Preparation:
- In a medium bowl, combine first 3 ingredients (flour through salt) and set aside
- In a large bowl, place cream sugar, butter and canola oil together until just combined
- Add almond paste to sugar mixture and beat until well combined (about 3 minutes)
- Beat in egg, one at a time
- Beat in vanilla extract
- Alternate adding flour mixture and milk into sugar mixture, beating well after each addition
- Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle with slivered almonds
- Bake at 350 for 50 minutes
