While posting on Facebook the other day, I kept noticing a recipe that consistently popped up on the right hand side of my screen. I finally took the time to actually look at this tidbit and am I glad I did!

A recipe for a quick bread that uses orange peel, orange juice concentrate, and cream cheese (my personal weakness) was there before my eyes, begging me to give it a try. Who am I to refuse a sincere offer?

Well, tried it I did, and this is one of the best quick breads I've ever made. The recipe site, Just a Pinch, included several reader comments below the recipe, and one reader said that it tastes more like a pound cake than a bread, but that she didn't mind that! I found the same thing, and I agree. Who cares? The texture and flavor are simply wonderful.

Like the recipe originator, I poured an orange syrup over the top. But one thing I did differently: instead of orange juice, which the author's recipe called for, I used orange juice concentrate. Then I added the orange juice to the milk when I mixed it into the bread. The recipe below shows the change I made. I like using concentrate rather than a juice because that intensifies the flavor.

The longer this bread sits, the better it is, too. Right out of the oven, it's a bit crumbly, but it tightens up nicely after it sits a few hours.

This isn't the first time I've found recipe treasures on the Internet - I'm sure you know what I mean. In fact, I have file folders full of Internet recipes (maybe you know about that, too). And at the risk of sounding like a commercial, I have to say here how ecstatic I am over finding the Cook'n Recipe Software. Because of this exceptional tool, I am whittling away, little by little, at my folders of loose papers - all my Internet recipes are getting organized and saved properly. And talk about a space-saver - wowwee, removing stuffed file folders means I have a chunk of my shelf freed up for more cookbook purchases! I love that.

So I'm gonna go enter some more Internet recipes into Cook'n while I nibble on this bread. Let me know what you think of this recipe, and aren't you glad you're ahead of the game and know exactly where to put this recipe today?

Orange Cream Cheese Bread

Thanks to JustAPinch.com

Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate


Directions:

Combine cream cheese and shortening, creaming well. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition. Stir in walnuts and orange peel.
Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 3 inch loaf pans. Bake at 375 degrees F for 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then sprinkle orange juice over loaves. Remove to wire rack to finish cooling

Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.

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