Fruit Juice Quick Bread With Toasted Peanut Butter Crust

This bread is sort of a sophisticated peanut butter and jelly sandwich that you definitely won't want to cut the crust off of. It gets along great with all kinds of different fruit juices and blended up fruits, and doesn't use a lot of white sugar because of that fruit flavor. The bread shown is made with grape juice, but it works beautifully as a banana, apple, orange, or berry bread as well.

Step 1: Ingredients

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil (or shortening)
2 eggs
1 cup fruit stuff*
2 cups flour**
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup peanut butter

mixing bowl/spoon or a mixer
loaf pan
shortening to grease the pan
small saucepan

*Fruit stuff can be pure fruit juice (no sugars, sweeteners, etc. added) or pureed fruit. I used 1 cup of grape juice for this bread - I can't find a white grape that doesn't have weird stuff in it so I used purple grape juice that made the bread a little blue/grey (which didn't bother me but it might bother some people.) Apple, blueberry, cranberry, lingonberry, or orange juice would be just as good.

If you use a blended up fruit (banana, strawberry, applesauce, raspberrries, etc.) include an extra 2 tbsp or so of juice.

**Flour - unbleached all purpose flour will give you a light, fluffy loaf of bread, but feel free to switch up to 50% with other sorts of flour - whole grain, ground oatmeal, spelt, etc., if that's what you're into.

Step 2: Mix It Up

Mix the sugar and oil in a mixing bowl/mixer. Add the eggs, then the juice/fruit, then the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix in the flour and when it's all blended well the chopped peanuts.

Step 3: Topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the loaf pan and pour the batter in. Let it hang around on the counter while you work on the topping.

Melt the peanut butter and butter together in a saucepan.

As soon as it's melty and mixed pour it over the top of the bread. It will probably end up in globs, so spread it over the top as well as possible.