Old-Fashioned Lemon Bread

It's gotten cold and I'm craving all things baked and of comfort. I was craving some lemon bread and english tea one afternoon last week...so I made this. I made a large single loaf, but I've also made 4 small mini loaves as well and gave them out to friends. It's the hospitable southern thing to do. You must use lemon zest. I didn't have any and just used what I had...the lemon juice in a bottle. It wasn't quite as lemony. This bread is not super sweet...which I liked. I've also made Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Yogurt Cake...which is also divine!

Bread:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon or key lime zest or to taste
2 eggs

Lemon Glaze:
4 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat together eggs and next 3 ingredients. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients until just blended. Pour batter into a greased and floured 5x9 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. While bread bakes, prepare lemon glaze by combining lemon juice and sugar in a small pan. Cook over medium heat, but reheat when ready to use. When baked, remove bread from oven but leave in pan. While still hot, use a long skewer to poke holes to the bottom of the bread. Slowly drizzle hot glaze over top of bread. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Then enjoy with your girl's and an impromptu tea party!