Garden Fresh Glazed Orange Bread

Kevin was recently visiting a friend with an orange tree in their backyard and came home with a bag FULL of them. After a few days of peeling and juicing as many as I could, I decided it was time to start baking :). After recipe searching and ingredient inventorying, I decided on a glazed orange bread recipe, adapted from this one at Simple Recipes. I omitted the raisins, added vanilla (because I can't imagine baking without it), and used only orange juice in the glaze. The result was a bright, citrus-infused bread that could be enjoyed just easily with breakfast as it could an afternoon snack. I would know, I had it for both. I felt it my duty to do my research for our readers.  Plus, it was a Saturday. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

If you have ever found yourself with a bag full of oranges (or any citrus, really) please let me know if you have any other ways to use them up. Have a wonderful weekend!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp orange zest (I zested 2 small oranges)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup plain yogurt (I used non-fat and it worked great!)

Glaze:
2 Tbsp* orange juice
3 Tbsp* powdered sugar
*measurements are approximate, I just kept adding a little of each until I got the right consistency and flavor. Mine was much thinner than the one in the Simple Recipes one, which is what I was looking for.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F and butter your loaf pan well.
 

With a hand mixer (you could use a stand one if you have it) beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for 2 minutes until creamy, then add your eggs one at a time, beating until completely incorporated. Add your orange zest and vanilla, set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Alternate adding the yogurt and dry ingredients by thirds to the wet ingredients, mixing on low until all ingredients have been added. Pour your batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake on the middle rack for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (mine took 55 minutes).

Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes. While the bread is cooling, prepare the glaze by just whisking together the juice and sugar until there are no lumps.

Use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the top and drizzle the glaze on top. Slice and serve!