Right when I was thinking it’s squash season and time to start thinking of what to do with everything from a pumpkin to a spaghetti squash, a friend told me fall means it’s bread and pizza season. That expands our topics quite a bit! I don’t know if he was thinking of the sweeter breads, but I’m starting with an apple cranberry loaf.
This is a dense bread that a good accompaniment with breakfast or lunch when you want it to be more filling. The topping is optional. After I put the bread in the oven, I was tasting some of the mix left in the bowl and it gave me a craving for coconut, so I added the topping. Plus, you can see I’m really trying to use up this buttermilk before it goes bad.
Apple Cranberry Nut Bread w/ Coconut Topping
1/4 C softened unsalted butter
1/2 C lightly packed light brown sugar
1 C buttermilk
1½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda
1 egg
1 t vanilla
2 C flour
1 t cinnamon
¼ t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
2 C shredded, peeled apple (2-3 apples)
3/4 C chopped pecans
1/2 C dried cranberries
Topping
2 T melted butter
2 T brown sugar
2 T buttermilk
¾ C flaked coconut
Preheat oven to 350. Beat the softened butter and sugars until well combined. Add buttermilk, baking powder, and baking soda; beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until completely combined. In a medium bowl, combine flour, spices, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low until just incorporated. Fold in apples, pecans and cranberries. Pour into a sprayed loaf pan.
Bake 60 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown. Meanwhile mix the topping ingredients if you want it. Spread the topping on the baked bread and broil 2-3 minutes, but don’t move the oven rack up any closer to the broiler.
