Spiced Pear Quick Bread

There are a few things that really speak "fall" to me when it comes to food....apples, pumpkins and of course, pears!  This Spiced Pear Quick Bread says fall for sure!  Since it is made with canned pears, you can actually make it anytime of the year you like. 

This quick bread is VERY moist and you can really taste the pear flavor through out.  To maintain a BIG pear flavor, I roughly mashed the pears with a pastry blender leaving visible chunks of pears in the mash.  When the bread is divided into 16 servings, it comes in at 4 points+ per serving.  (I cut it into 8 big slices and then half each of those slices for a serving)   I like to top the bread with a TBS or so of turbinado sugar before baking ( that's the shiny coating on the top ) but that part is totally optional.  I did replace half the sugar called for in the recipe with MoreFiber™  Stevia Baking Blend and I was really happy with the result, but you could either use all sugar or all MoreFiber™  Stevia Baking Blend if you like.

Spiced Pear Quick Bread

loosely adapted from a recipe on Allrecipes.com

Yield - one  5 x 9" loaf   Servings - 16   Serving size - 1/16th of loaf   Points Plus per Serving - 4 Points+

Calories - 145.3,   Total Fat - 3.4g,   Carb. - 25.7g,   Protein - 2.6g,   Fiber - 1.2g

Ingredients: 

2 (15 ounce) cans of sliced pears, in juice, drained and  roughly mashed

2/3 cups granulated sugar ( I replaced half the sugar with MoreFiber™  Stevia Baking Blend )

3 TBSP canola oil

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 cups all purpose flour ( can use half whole wheat pastry flour, if desired) 

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:  

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray 5 x 9" loaf pan with cooking spray ( I like to use Baker's Joy ) 

2. In med bowl, combine the mashed pears, sugar ( or sugar and MoreFiber™  Stevia Baking Blend ), oil, eggs, vanilla extract and buttermilk.  Set aside.  

3.  In large bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Use a whisk to blend well.  Make a well in center of flour mixture.  Pour the pear mixture into the bowl and mix until just combined.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan, spreading the top evenly and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if desired.  

4.  Bake for 60 - 70 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. 

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I loved the flavor of the spice combination in this quick bread and the pears just gave it such a moist texture!  Although replacing half the sugar with MoreFiber™  Stevia Baking Blend didn't effect points+ values, it did reduce the overall amount of refined sugar in this recipe by half, without sacrificing any flavor or texture.