Sunday, September 20, 2009

Apple Bread and The Apple of My Eye~

 
It's officially fall on the 21st! I'm a little melancholy that summer is at an end but fall means a whole new arena of ingredients for cooking and baking. Apples are high on the list of those ingredients for me.



I haven't had much time for baking lately :) Being a new grandmother is consuming in so many ways! Our daughter and new grandson were discharged from the hospital today so I had a time to try a new recipe this morning that I found in the new Penzey's fall magazine for apple bread.

It was sweet and good and tasted just like Fall to me.

Here is the true Apple of My Eye :)


For an interesting background of the phrase 'Apple of My Eye' click here.

Apple Bread
Recipe courtesy of Penzeys
Printable Recipe

4 Cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped, 4-5 large apples
4 large eggs, beaten
1 Cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 Cups all-purpose flour
2 Cups granulated white sugar

Topping:

3⁄4 Cup all-purpose flour
1⁄4 Cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1⁄2 Cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly grease two standard bread loaf pans and set aside.

Peel, core and slice the apples. Cut into good-sized chunks, about 1 inch in size. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the oil and beat until combined. Add the vanilla, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Beat until thoroughly mixed. Next, add the flour and sugar and mix on low just to blend. Turn the mixer to high and beat until mixture is smooth. The batter will be very thick.

Fold in the chopped apples, mixing by hand so the apples do not get broken up. Divide
the mixture between the two pans. Since the batter is so thick, it is easiest to
spoon the batter into the pans.

To prepare the topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut the butter into the mixture with a fork until all ingredients are moist and crumbly. Sprinkle equal amounts of topping on each loaf.

Bake for about 1 hour on the center rack of the oven. The loaf should feel fairly firm when touched in the middle; if not, bake an extra 5-10 minutes.Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pans.

My Notes~ I baked the bread in a mini loaf pan and found it wasn't fully baked after 1 hour and needed another 10 minutes. I also found it slightly too sweet for my taste and would reduce the sugar next time.

26 comments:

Carol said...

I had a feeling when I saw the title :) I knew who your apple would be! Hey Mack, Apple, Mac, get it? He is one gorgeous little guy, Susan! Love the mosaic!

A Grain of Salt said...

Susan, who cares about an apple recipe... the true apple of your eye is a little darling! I know you're on cloud 9!

Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...

Congratulations on the new grandbaby. Being a grandma is wonderful. Great mosaic. You need to frame it and hang it on your wall.

Carol said...

Beautiful baby! Many blessings to all of you!

Nina Timm said...

I love apples, red and crisp, but you little live apple is just too adorable!!!!

Kathy Walker said...

Beautiful child! You are so fortunate.

The apple bread looks very moist and tasty!

Kathy said...

Precious baby and a beautiful mosaic!
Kathy

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

What a beautiful baby...congrats!!!

Foley said...

The best mosaic of all!! It is going to be so much fun watching him grow up like we do Tate and Declan.
The recipe looks delish...loe this time of year!

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

Oh Susan, life is just so good! Enjoy sweet Mack, he is such a lucky little guy to be welcomed in this world by his wonderful family. The recipe looks like a winner! Did you buy him anything red yet? LOL

Carol at Serendipity said...

What a beautiful baby and a beautiful mosaic.

I will be trying the apple bread this weekend.

Carol

puna said...

Wow, yummy. I think I just found a new recipe site:)

La Table De Nana said...

I promise you that blooms and food will now have the back seat in the photo studio:) It will be very difficult to Keep Savoring Thyme in the kitchen instead of the nursery..Their little faces stay with us as we fall asleep..carry on w/ our day..and wake up:)
It's big:)

Love the collage ~He is most definitely A beautiful boy~ I love John Lennon's song~

Cathy said...

Wonderful, precious photos,
Susan. Being a grandparent is one of life's sweetest gifts.

Anonymous said...

You mosaic is so adorable!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Michelle @ Sweet Something Design said...

Congrats on your grandbaby! My second son had that much hair too! :)Wonderful mosaic!

Marsha said...

Susan, he is just the cutest little baby! I just can't get over how beautiful of a baby he is with all that dark hair...I too am wondering (like Debbie) when we'll see him clothed in red :)

Great sounding recipe!

Cindy said...

After seeing that sweet face at GB had to pop in here for more. Have a feeling your Mack mosaic is the first of many.

Hey Mack, Apple, Mac, get it?

And he's just as yummy!

Cynthia said...

Lovely mosaic, Susan... such a sweet face. I have no doubt that you could look at Mack for hours on end ... so precious and innocent.

Beautiful pic of the apple bread ... looks very moist and tasty. ... I enjoyed reading the background of "Apple of My Eye".

Mary said...

Oh Susan, how sweet!!! The recipe looks wonderful, but I LOVED seeing the little apple of your eye! :)

ellen b. said...

Oh what sweetness! Congratulations! I just met my sweet grand niece who was discharged from the hospital on Saturday...

Karine said...

Congrats for a grandkid!

By the way, your apple breads sounds delicious :)

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Thank you - each and every one of you!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Carol, LOL! Apple - Mac :)

Tes said...

Oh wow, Susan, he is such a darling. Lovely mosaic. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Kathleen said...

He is just beautiful..God bless and give you a whole orchard of little Mack's!
The cake looks good too!
Enjoy your wonderful blessing!