Blueberry Pie Quick Bread
Blueberry pie quick bread, as the name suggests, is a quick recipe that uses fresh blueberries, although frozen will also do.

I have had this block of leftover almond paste just sitting in the back of my refrigerator for weeks.

Every time I would open the fridge, I would just stare at the container, knowing I needed to use it up but not being 100-percent sure how.

But then there were beautiful, fresh blueberries sitting in the produce department at the grocery store, and I knew what I had to do.

So, if you’re wondering, the star in this week’s recipe, for me at least, is the almond paste, because that meant I finally got it out of my fridge and out of my head,. But let’s face it: the blueberries are really king, and this was so, so good that I may have to buy more almond paste and start the whole cycle all over again.

This recipe comes from the blog “Bunsen Burner Bakery.” You can find the original at https://www.bunsenburnerbakery.com/blueberry-pie-bread/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

Blueberry Pie Quick Bread
Print Recipe

Blueberry Pie Quick Bread

Blueberry pie quick bread, as the name suggests, is a quick recipe that uses fresh blueberries, although frozen will also do.
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword: almond paste, blueberry, quick bread, sweet bread

Ingredients

Filling Ingredients

  • 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen, thawed and drained
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Bread Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup butter melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk I used skim
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Crumble Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons butter melted
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup almond paste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
  • To make the pie filling, combine the filling ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mixture thickens. Remove it from heat and set it aside.
  • For the batter, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs and milk, and then beat in the rest of the bread ingredients until it is smooth. Fold in the blueberry filling and pour the batter into the prepared pan. (Leave the mixture swirled rather than mixing it completely for a pretty finished look.)
  • In another bowl, combine the ingredients for the crumble, mixing with a fork. Break the mixture into pieces and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the bread.
  • Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a moist crumb but not unbaked batter.
  • Cool completely in the pan before removing. Slice it, and then store the bread in an airtight container.

The original instructions say to only let this cool 10 minutes before trying to remove it from the pan, but my bread broke in half when I tried, and I was lucky enough to get it to adhere back together before I tried again. So even though it’s really, really hard to wait, I’d recommend letting it cool completely.

This bread was full of gorgeous berries, and the almond flavor really paired nicely, as well. If you don’t want to do the crumble on top, you could easily skip it, or I’d recommend finding a cinnamon crumble topping from a Dutch apple pie recipe and trying that, instead, if the almonds don’t sound good.

I’m sure that empty spot in my fridge will soon feature another puzzle of a leftover for me to solve, but for now, at least I finally got that one checked off my list.

This piece first appeared in print on July 2, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.