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Almond Pecan Praline Bread

Almond Pecan Praline Bread



You know how your parents always said that they didn’t have any favorites among their kids and they loved you all equally? They lied. We ALL play favorites. Not intentionally, not maliciously, but we do it anyway. It’s human nature. With people (your kids or whoever), you can love them all just as MUCH, but there are always people you click with differently..better..on a deeper level somehow. That’s the same reason you end up with a spouse or partner. You…just…click.

It’s no different with foods. Everyone has favorites. Foods or flavors that just click with you. Most of us (the normal ones anyway) love chocolate and will use any excuse to eat it. Others love vanilla anything. Put something with lemon or other citrus in front of yet another person and they will devour it. What’s one of mine? Other than all of the above lol?

Almond. Not so much the actual nut To me, they tend to be rather flavorless and I don’t like the texture, though slivered or sliced and toasted is a whole different story. but no, I mean things flavored with almonds. be it almond extract, almond paste, almond filling, marzipan, whatever, I absolutely love anything with almond flavoring. And I add it to as many things as I can think of that it will go with.

One of almonds favorite places to call home is in my stomach in baked goods. Cookies, yeast breads, coffee cakes, muffins and on and on. It’s yummy in all of them. My favorite way is in a quick bread. We love quick breads here anyway (keep my husband away from my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or nobody else will get any.) so making one with almond flavoring in it was a natural for me. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone and added some praline pecans to this one.

This is just a basic quick bread. The fun comes from the almond flavoring and the pecans. They totally make this bread. Spread this bread, still slightly warm from the oven, with raspberry, cherry or apricot jam and you will be in heaven. Those fruits are so complementary to almond. This is great for dessert, breakfast, a snack or just cause you’re darn cute and deserve a slice or twelve.

Almond Pecan Praline Bread With An Almond Glaze

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 14 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable (or canola) oil
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces praline pecans
  • GLAZE-
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk (more or less as needed to make drizzling consistency)
  1. Grease and flour 5 mini loaf pans. You can also use cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together all your dry ingredients, except for the pecans
  3. In another bowl or a large measuring cup, combine your wet ingredients.
  4. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and dump in the wet ones.
  5. Mix JUST until combined. As I’ve said before, don’t overbeat quick breads and muffins. You will end up with tough tunneled bread.
  6. Fold in the pecans, then spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared pans.
  7. Bake at 350 until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  8. Let cool in pans on wire rack for about ten minutes if you plan on then turning them out or just leave them in the pan on the rack until completely cool if giving them away… though I’m not sure why you’d do that.
  9. To make the glaze, just combine everything in a small bowl. Drizzle it over the cooled breads.
  10. Eat. Say Yum!


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5 thoughts on “Playing Favorites

  1. Love almond, too, Janet, both the nut and the flavouring. Maybe the flavouring more than the nut. We usually add that to soy milk junket. Love pecans too. Awesome bread. Just love it. Wish I could have it.

  2. I grew up eating a dessert called Danish Puff…which was flavored with almond extract. I’ve loved the taste ever since. Your bread sounds fantastic with the almond flavor and the pralines!

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