Applesauce Spice Loaf + Review of Sweet Mornings

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I’m not a huge breakfast eater but more and more I’ve been eating a little something for breakfast.   I prefer sweet breakfast foods to savory though I wouldn’t pass up a quiche or toast.   Lately I’ve been making things for breakfast that I can eat all week long.  It’s nice to bake on Sunday for the entire week.

I recently received a copy of Sweet Mornings:  125 Sweet and Savory Breakfast and Brunch Recipes by Patty Pinner.  This is a fabulous cookbook filled with breakfast and brunch recipes.  I found a few to make for my weekly breakfasts and a bunch that I could use for a book club brunch at my house.

Sweet Mornings collects more than 100 sweet and savory options for breakfast and brunch. From donuts to crumb cakes to sweet rolls, these are the kind of treats that evoke feelings of warmth and comfort like only good, old-fashioned breakfast food can.

Author Patty Pinner has been collecting breakfast recipes for as long as she can remember. She comes from a long line of breakfast bakers, and many of the recipes in this book have been passed down from the “Greats”—great-grannies and -aunties—as well as cousins and other influential women in Pinner’s life. To pore through these recipes, and then to bake them at home, evokes in Pinner memories of the many women who created them. Pinner includes charming, often comical stories about her life and family throughout the cookbook.

With generations-old recipes that range from the familiar (Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes) to the fun (Pineapple Upside Down Biscuits), Sweet Mornings is a reliable, well-tested addition to any kitchen. These recipes are ideal for slow weekend mornings and afternoons when you want to lure family and friends to the table with the intoxicating aroma of a homemade sweet treat baking in the oven.

As the author’s mother used to say, the only thing that differentiates breakfast from dinner is the time of day. Where does it say you can’t have a little sugar in the morning? (-synopsis)

The book is divided into Sweet Beginnings and Morning Savories.  There are a lot more sweet dishes than savory dishes which is totally my preference.  A few recipes I’m excited to try are Chocolate-Macadamia Waffles, Triple Berry Parfait, Cherry Granola, Key Lime Squares, Big Mama’s Chicken and Waffles, and Pop’s Angel Biscuits.

The first recipe I tried was the Applesauce Spice Loaf.   I love a good sweet bread in the morning and it can double as a sweet treat in the evening before bed.   I always keep applesauce in the house so I knew that wouldn’t be a problem.   I had just bought a bag of walnuts so I was set there too.

This bread was really easy to prepare.   I whipped it up in a few minutes, poured it into the pan, and poured the cinnamon and sugar topping on top of it.   It baked for 45 minutes and then I let it cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

The bread has a delicious crumb to it.  It’s moist and tastes faintly of apples.  The walnuts give it a nice crunch.  The spices give it a nice spicy flavor.   It’s a great breakfast bread and can be topped with butter, jam, or my favorite, apple butter.

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Applesauce Spice Loaf

Yield: serves 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Try this tasty quick bread made with applesauce, walnuts, and spices for breakfast or a snack!

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Ingredients

For the topping:

• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the bread:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 c. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 whole large egg, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider (not sparkling)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. To make the topping: In a small mixing bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and stir well. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Grease the parchment and dust the sides and bottom of the pan with some flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.
3. To make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and allspice. Set aside.
4. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, butter, granulated and brown sugars, egg, egg yolk, apple cider, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth. Gently stir the flour mixture into the applesauce mixture /3 at a time until just combined. Fold the nuts into the batter until well distributed.
5. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Evenly sprinkle the batter with the topping and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
6. Turn out the loaf onto the wire rack and allow to cool completely.
7. Transfer to a serving platter, slice, and serve at room temperature.

Notes

Recipe from Sweet Mornings: 125 Sweet and Savory Breakfast and Brunch Recipes by Patty Pinner