Pear Bread with Orange Honey Glaze

I love spring. I love the smell of the thawing earth. I love the sound of the waking birds. I love the balmy feel of the air as the sun breaks through the clouds at long last. Today, I hiked out to The Sledding Hill with the kids. I laid out a blanket on the ground and read to Bellie as Cookie and Boots rolled down the hill and played in the weeds. I think I even got a tan. I hope I did anyways. 

Also today, I was rummaging through the pantry looking for something good to have for lunch, when I noticed that we had an excessive amount of ripe pears. So, instead of sitting by and sobbing as they rotted, I decided to be resourceful and make a quick bread.  



Pear Bread with Orange Honey Glaze



1/3 C shortening

1/3 C butter

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C light brown sugar

4 eggs

1 t vanilla

3 1/2 C flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

2 C pears (very ripe or canned) peeled and mashed (about 4 pears)



Glaze:

1 C powdered sugar

2 1/2 T orange juice

1 T honey

(I'm not gonna lie, you can't really taste the orange and honey since the glaze is so thin. I mostly used them because orange honey glaze sounds awesome. Go ahead and use whatever liquid you want.)



Cream together the shortening, butter, and sugars. 
Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Stir together the shortening and flour mixtures just until combined.
Mix in the pears just until combined.
Bake in two well greased loaf pans for about 40-45 min. at 350º or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
Let cool for about ten minutes. Then flip the loaves out onto a cooling rack on top of wax paper. 
Mix together the powdered sugar, juice, and honey. Pour glaze over bread.