If I had to pick a favorite dessert, it would hands-down be quick breads or muffins. I know, I know… not your typical “dessert”, but I can’t help myself… I just love breads and muffins! Especially when they’re loaded with fresh, juicy peaches!
One of my absolute favorite things about summer is all of the fresh produce. Not only is the selection of fruits and veggies at this time of year excellent, but all of those said fruits and veggies taste absolutely incredible. Here in Michigan, we’re approaching the peak of peach season, and I have been loving all of the fresh peaches lately. Tell me… is there anything that screams “SUMMER” more than biting into a fresh, juicy peach and having it drip all over your hands and face? Just thinking about that now has me seriously craving a peach!
Even though I love eating peaches on their own, I love incorporating them into other dishes, as well. Usually I don’t get to bake a lot in the summer because it’s just too darn hot to turn on the oven, so I haven’t really experimented much with peach desserts besides peach pie or peach cobbler. However, last week, we had some unusually cold weather for the middle of July, so I took full advantage of it and fired up my oven to make some desserts with the abundance of peaches I bought at the store the other day. First up was this juicy peach quick bread.
Growing up, my next-door neighbor always made this to-die-for peaches and cream pie, and even though I haven’t had it in well over 15 years, I still remember that I loved the combo of peaches and cream. So I used that as my inspiration for this bread and came up with my own version of a peaches and cream dessert: peach cream cheese quick bread.
Most of the time when I make quick breads using cream cheese, I create a distinct cream cheese layer that’s separate from the rest of the batter. However this time, I decided to just incorporate the cream cheese directly into the batter with the remaining ingredients. Unfortunately, this means you don’t get to sink your teeth into a thick and creamy cheesecake layer when you take a bite of the bread, however it does mean that the cream cheese gets incorporated with the rest of the ingredients, making the whole entire loaf dense and creamy. And in my personal opinion, I like it better this way where everything is all mixed together.
Oh and just look at those peach chunks, will you? Biting into those thick, juicy pieces is seriously like a little piece of heaven in your mouth!
This recipe makes enough for two large loaves, and they freeze really well. Because of that, I usually bake a few batches at once and then freeze them so I can pull a loaf out at a later time. After all, peach season is way too short (in my opinion), and I want to enjoy those peaches year-round in any way that I can!
Just like the name suggests, this peach cream cheese quick bread is very quick and easy to throw together, so do yourself a favor and try it out! Or, if the weather is too hot right now where you are, save the recipe for later and bake it on a day when it cools off outside!
Peach Cream Cheese Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 1/2 – 2 heaping cups peaches peeled and diced
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 cup slivered or chopped almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two large loaf pans with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Using an electric or stand mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add eggs and almond extract and continue to mix until well-combined.
- Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined, and then fold in the peaches and almonds. Be careful not to over-mix!
- Distribute batter evenly between the greased loaf pans and bake 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the loaves from the oven and allow them to cool in their pans for 20 minutes. After that, remove the loaves from the pan onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.
