Blueberry Orange Bread

There are scads of great recipes on the internet and you can find them anywhere from blogs to cooking forums to community sites. I have had so much success finding recipes online that I almost forget about my recipe box….almost. My recipe box, with the hand-written and food stained recipe cards. The recipes in my recipe box are tried and true. Most are passed down from my grandma, mom, or some other such trustworthy source. This is one of those recipes. Blueberry Orange Bread. This recipe came from my grandma, though I couldn’t say where she came by it. A holiday staple, but I happen to think it is good anytime of year. Especially, say, when fresh blueberries are abundant.

The thing that puts this bread right over the edge, where it is transformed from just delicious to melt-in-your-mouth amazing, is the honey orange sauce that gets drizzled over the bread as it comes steaming from the oven. It soaks into the bread and makes it extra moist and unbelievably flavorful. Soooo good! I adapted the recipe slightly to make it egg and dairy free and it still came out great. You can use the egg and real butter if you would like. Need one last perk? This bread goes together in a snap but it looks and tastes like you slaved over it.

Blueberry Orange Bread

• 2 tbsp. butter*
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 tsp. grated orange rind
• 1 egg (or 1/2 banana, mashed)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Grease a bread pan and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter in boiling water, add orange juice and grated orange rind. Set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside. Beat egg (or banana) with sugar until light and fluffy. Add orange juice mixture and mix. Add flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fold in blueberries.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While bread is still hot: whisk together 2 tbsp. of honey and 2 tbsp. of orange juice and pour evenly over warm bread.