i have a question about a recipe I made yesterday. Carrot Zucchini Bead with Lemon Glaze by Merrill Stubbs.

Sorry to hear about your troubles with this recipe! I've made it successfully many times at home, and our test kitchen has also made it several times and never experienced this problem. And no one has weighed in on the recipe page with any similar feedback. I wish I had some words of wisdom to offer other than what's already been said by others here about ingredient and oven temp and baking time, but I'll confess I'm a bit stumped -- especially since you said multiple testers came out clean! You're not cooking at altitude, are you?

It sounds like either your oven temperature was too hot, or it simply needed more time to bake. It may also be your leavening agent was not active enough, as both baking powder and baking soda lose strength with age. If that fails, you can end up with a gummy mess as well. When you bake quick breads, they should bake in the center of the oven. The baking time in the recipe is really more a guide than a hard rule as well- and the best way to tell if your loaf is done is to test it the old fashioned way. Use a toothpick or skewer, in the center of the bread, at least to reach the middle of the loaf. When that comes out nearly clean, your loaf is done. If it's browning too quickly, and the middle still needs time to bake, cover the top with foil. Should you ever be faced with a liquid center in the future, you can always cook the batter to make pancakes. And a loaf that is a bit moist can be sliced and griddle cooked as well. Serve that up with a bit of ice cream, and nobody will complain.

Yesterday I made my Harvest Breakfast Muffins and I tested them with a toothpick at the designated time they were to be done. For whatever reason this time they were not so I put them in for another 3-5 minutes. Sometimes it just happens where something needs more time. Could be the temperature of your ingredients, could be your oven, hard to say.