Rum Raisin Zucchini Bread

The warm scent of bread baking in the oven is a sure way to chase the autumn chill away, especially when the batter is laced with seasonal spices such as ginger, cinnamon and cloves. I’ll often bake a loaf of bread on the weekend to snack on throughout the week.

I was looking through old recipe cards the other day and came across my mom’s recipe for zucchini bread. It was written in perfect penmanship on a little card with a cute little birdhouse printed in the corner. The frayed edges on the card were a testament to the recipe’s use over many decades, harkening back to an age when life was quieter and slower - when we actually took the time to write down recipes in perfect penmanship to share with family and friends.

I love zucchini bread. I even shred big batches of zucchini and freeze it in 2-cup portions, ready to make zucchini bread whenever the mood seems right. While making my mom’s recipe for zucchini bread and getting ready to add some golden raisins to the batter, I remembered my mom’s favorite ice cream, rum raisin. As a matter of fact, my mom was the only person I ever knew who ate that flavor ice cream. That’s when I had an “Aha!” moment - why not combine the flavors and rehydrate the golden raisins in dark rum. It would have to taste delicious, right? Absolutely!

RUM RAISIN ZUCCHINI BREAD

1/2 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons dark rum
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups shredded zucchini
Baking spray to coat loaf pans
2 8-inch long bread loaf pans
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8” by 4” loaf pans.

Put the golden raisins and rum in a small bowl and microwave on low for 20 seconds. Set aside to let the raisins rehydrate with the rum.

In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla, sugar and oil.

In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda) and mix well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and beat to combine. Drain the plumped raisins.

Stir the zucchini, raisins and walnuts into the batter.

Pour half of the batter into each prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaves to test for doneness. If the center is still moist, cover the loaves with foil to prevent burning and bake for an additional 10 minutes then test again for doneness. Bake until the toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 2 loaves. The loaves can be wrapped in plastic, then foil and frozen for later use.