Blueberry Lemon Bread

 by Shanna Hatfield

In my new release, Distracting the Deputy, Zadie (the heroine) loves all things lemon. I think she'd give this delicious lemony blueberry bread her stamp of approval. Enjoy!

Lemony Blueberry Bread

Ingredients:

BREAD

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 cups fresh blueberries

GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2-4 tablespoons lemon juice

lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×5 loaf pan by lining with parchment paper then coating with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, sour cream, lemon juice and zest. Blend the dry ingredients into the liquid, stirring until just combined.

Fold in 1 3/4 cups of the blueberries. Pour batter into loaf pan and sprinkle remaining blueberries on top (reserve a few for garnish if desired).

Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cool before removing from pan and glazing.

For the glaze, mix powdered sugar with lemon zest and enough juice that the consistency is thick, yet pourable. Top with a few berries and lemon zest.

Store wrapped in refrigerator for up to five days.

Yield: 10 servings

Trouble is coming, but for whom?

When he’s not evading grabby-handed octogenarians, mentoring troubled teens, or rescuing rascally youngsters from disaster, Deputy Knox Strickland can be found upholding the law in the eastern Oregon region he patrols. He avoids making plans for tomorrow, focusing instead on doing his best today. Then one chance encounter with a beautiful woman in a wheat field turns his world upside down. Knox is left questioning what secrets she’s hiding, and how hard he’ll have to work to scale the fortress she’s built around her heart.

Zadie Redmond isn’t like most women. A life spent looking over her shoulder has destroyed the promising future she’d once envisioned. Her days are spent leading hunting and fishing adventures or teaching tiny ballerinas the proper way to plié. She fills her evenings with do-it-yourself projects while worrying about the day her past catches up with her. In an unexpected moment, the local deputy swoops into her world like a storybook hero and she knows nothing will ever be the same. Zadie will do anything to keep Knox safe from the danger lurking in the shadows, even if it destroys her chance at love.

Will Knox convince Zadie she can trust him with her secrets and her heart?

A sweet romance full of quirky small-town fun, Distracting the Deputy is a story of hope, help, and hanging on to what matters most.

Available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited