The nutty tastes of whole wheat flour and toasted hazelnuts team up with sweet, grated pears in this quick bread. To prevent the bread from becoming gummy during baking, squeeze excess moisture from the grated pear before mixing it into the batter.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 ripe but firm medium Anjou pear
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts*
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In medium bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In liquid measuring cup, stir together buttermilk, oil, orange peel and vanilla.

3. In large bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar at high speed 3 to 5 minutes or until pale and thickened. Alternately fold flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into egg mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

4. Cut pear in half; shred coarsely on cheese shredder, discarding core. (You should have 1 cup shredded pear.) Place pear in piece of cheesecloth or clean towel; squeeze out excess moisture. Fluff and separate pear; gently fold pear, cranberries and hazelnuts into batter. Spoon into loaf pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle with sugar.

5. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until top is golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Turn loaf out onto wire rack; cool completely.

TIP *To toast hazelnuts, spread on baking sheet; bake at 375°F. for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

1 (16-slice) loaf

PER SLICE: 195 calories, 7 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 4 g protein, 31.5 g carbohydrate, 30 mg cholesterol, 185 mg sodium, 2 g fiber