Mother-in-Law Lemon Bread

Lemon Bread

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

grated peel of one lemon

1/2 cup powdered sugar

juice of the lemon

Preheat oven to 350 deg F and prepare two regular size loaf pans by spraying with cooking spray.  Flouring the pans is not necessary.

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.  In a different bowl, a big one, mix together the butter, sugar, and lemon peel. Once that's mixed well, stir in the eggs.  Mix in the dry ingredients, adding the milk a little at a time.  Blend well.  This should be about cake batter consistency.

Pour into loaf pans (about 2/3 full) and set in the center of the oven rack.  Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

WHile the loaves are in the oven, mix together the powdered sugar and juice of the lemon.  Remove the seeds if necessary.  Mix this until it is smooth and there are no lumps of the powdered sugar.

When the loaves are ready (test with a toothpick to check doneness) remove from oven.  The top of the loaves should already be open.  Prick along the outer rim of the loaves with a fork, making holes down into the bread.  DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE PANS YET.  Spoon the lemon juice mixture over the holes you just put in the loaves as well as over the top of the loaves.  Do this slow enough to allow the juice to soak into the bread.  Continue spooning over the loaves until all the juice is gone. 

Allow the loaves to cool and then remove from loaf pans.  Serve and eat.  Two regular loaves conservatively make about 25 slices of lemon bread.

As a variation, you could add poppyseed or dried cranberries to the mix prior to baking.  Oh YUM!!