“Good day, Sunshine!  Good day, Sunshine!”  Because I’m actually singing that this morning, be glad you’re not sitting next to me since my singing voice may make dogs howl, or your ears bleed.  But vocal stylin’s aside, I felt like giving the proverbial finger to this cold, wet weather and making something that made me think of sunny days and warmer temps.  And nothing says “sunny day” to me more than something with citrus. Lemony, tart, tangy goodness wakes up not only your mood, but your palate.  So why not perk up with a citrus-y version of a classic like zucchini bread?

At a recent trip to Trader Joe’s (which can be dangerous for me), I picked up a few zucchini.  I love their versatility in terms of savory dishes, replacements for things like pasta, and of course in sweet versions like bread or muffins.  I was sure I’d have them all figured out by that night.  Well, one thing lead to another, and suddenly a couple days had passed. Those lovelies started yelling at me every time I opened my fridge (yes, I refrigerated them to extend their shelf life–blasphemy to some, I know). I was craving something peppy and jaunty (yes, I used the word “jaunty” to describe a baked good), so off to Pinterest I went.  With a few clicks, it turned out that this Citrus Zucchini Bread was just what I was looking for.

Citrus Zucchini Bread

Those regular old breads (banana, bran, pumpkin, etc.) are all great standbys.  But I think I like zucchini bread the most because you can do so much more to it and still highlight the zucchini.  The fact that zucchini are normally in season in late summer makes it a perfect way to beckon to warmer weather with the punch of citrus added here.  The zest in the batter alone wakes you up, but the glaze puts you into a haze of Summer Lovin’ (had me a blast…).

Sing your way to summer with this great combo of flavors!  You’ll be the hit of the office (or breakfast table!) if you show up with this beauty.

Citrus Zucchini Muffins
Baked Good Monday--Citrus Zucchini Bread
Print Recipe
As I've mentioned in other posts and recipes, I love just about anything with citrus. I have a hard time passing it up, and will choose citrusy and fruity over chocolatey 9 times out of 10. I know, I'm an anomaly, but there it is. Have lemon, will bake, zest, juice and EAT.
Servings Prep Time
1 loaf of bread 15 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 loaf of bread 15 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Citrus Zucchini Muffins
Baked Good Monday--Citrus Zucchini Bread
Print Recipe
As I've mentioned in other posts and recipes, I love just about anything with citrus. I have a hard time passing it up, and will choose citrusy and fruity over chocolatey 9 times out of 10. I know, I'm an anomaly, but there it is. Have lemon, will bake, zest, juice and EAT.
Servings Prep Time
1 loaf of bread 15 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 loaf of bread 15 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Ingredients
For the bread
For the glaze
Servings: loaf of bread
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray an 8x4 loaf pan with cooking spray.
    Zucchini Bread Ingredients
  2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest, mixing with your fingertips until fragrant.
    Lemon Zest & Sugar
  3. Add the egg, vegetable oil and vanilla and whisk to combine the ingredients.
    Egg with Sugar & Zest
  4. Stir in zucchini.
    Zucchini into Batter
  5. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. If you don't have a sifter, simply make sure you incorporate all of the dry ingredients so that they distribute evenly through the batter.
    Sift Dry Ingredients
  6. Stir the dry mixture into the zucchini batter until just combined. Don't over mix, or the batter will become too stiff, resulting in "tough" bread.
    Dry ingredients into wet ingredients
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
    Batter into Loaf Pan
  8. Bake 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove pan to wire rack and cool in pan for about 10 minutes before turning out onto the wire rack to cool completely. I refrigerated mine overnight prior to glazing.
    Zucchini Bread
  9. Once bread is cooled, prepare the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Drizzle the glaze over the bread.
    Zucchini Bread with Lemon Glaze
Recipe Notes

As you can see by the intro picture, I also made muffins out of this great recipe.  I had enough zucchini for a double batch, so I figured I'd try muffins, too.  Just bake at the same temperature, but for 25-30 minutes instead of the full 50-55.

Citrus Zucchini Muffins

For the recipe, thanks to My Baking Addiction for the inspiration on this one.  Great pictures and clearly she got me pointed in this direction!

Because of the versatility of this and other quick breads, I would be inclined to try other citrus in here, too. Orange zest in the batter?  You bet!  Lime in the glaze?  Yes, please!

I'd love to hear your variations on this classic!  Share your ideas or thoughts here for everyone to steal, er, I mean enjoy.

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