This is a story from when my three year old grand nephew, Reed, visited at Christmas. He was just beginning to figure out who Santa and the elves are. This was our conversation. Reed says, “My Elf’s name is Kringle but his real name is elf because he is one. He watches me at night while I sleep and he tells Santa what I do.” (How much trouble can a kid get into while he is asleep?)

“Kringle decides if I am on the ‘good list’ or the ‘bad list.’” (He looks forlorn as he shakes his head about the bad list, it must be really awful to get your name on that list.) I ask him what the elves at the North Pole do and he thinks for a minute and can’t come up with an answer. Then, he asks his mother, Lori, what the other elves do. Thank goodness for mothers who know everything about elves!

This quick bread is perfect with hot coffee or tea for breakfast! Packed with the flavor of tangerines, it stays moist because of its special glaze. The glaze takes less than 5 minutes to make and has significantly more orange flavor than the typical powdered sugar glaze mixed with orange juice. If your family likes additional ingredients, feel free to add dried cranberries, dried fruit and/or nuts.

Tangerine Poppy Seed Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup tangerine juice (from 3-4 tangerines)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon tangerine zest (use a microplane to zest the tangerine)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds in a large mixing bowl. Zest tangerine. Combine egg, tangerine juice, oil, milk and tangerine zest in a small bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until barely moistened. The batter will still contain lumps of dry ingredients.

Spoon batter into an 8 X 4 X 2-inch loaf pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and the bottom of the pan lined with parchment paper. Bake 350ºF for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean. Cover the pan with foil after 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

Remove bread from oven and let sit on a wire rack for 5 minutes then remove from pan and place on a wire rack with a rimmed baking sheet under it. Poke holes in the top of the bread halfway down the depth of the bread with a wooden skewer. Glaze bread with tangerine glaze (recipe below) using a pastry brush. Wrap loaf in plastic wrap and let sit overnight before cutting. Makes 1 loaf.

Tangerine Glaze
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons tangerine juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Combine all glaze ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium low heat until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted. Enjoy!