Maple Apple Pecan Bread

My friend (and neighbor), Lindsay, and I went apple picking for the first time this season. We took our girls and enjoyed seeing them take delight from picking fruit off the tree and putting the apples in their own baskets.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day!

Lindsay made apple pie with the apples and I made applesauce and Maple Apple Pecan Bread. It's my new favorite quickbread that I stumbled upon at www.cookingforseven.com. This blog is so beautiful! (I have adapted the recipe a bit, but wanted to give credit to the Erica--she's an incredibly talented 21 year old!) I'm glad I made extra to share with our other neighbor, Chelsea. I can't wait to make this again. It's delicious in the morning with a cup of coffee or as a snack in the afternoon with a piece of cheese and a cup of tea.

Reasons why I absolutely LOVE this Maple Apple Pecan bread and think you will too:

1. It is tender and moist.
2. It has a crumbly-crunchy topping.
3. It is made with whole grains and is sweetened with maple syrup instead of sugar.
4. It makes the whole house smell like fall.
5. It has complex layers of flavor--the vanilla, the maple, the cinnamon, the nuttiness--simply delicious.

MAPLE APPLE PECAN BREAD
inspired by www.cookingforseven.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (I love King Arthur brand)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. old fashioned oats 
• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds (flaxmeal)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 heaping tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 (or less) tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk or fat-free plain Greek yogurt (or a combination of the two)
• 5 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter (I did a combination of light and regular butters)
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chopped apples (relatively finely chopped)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Topping:

• Ground cinnamon & brown sugar (Turbindo or raw sugar preferred)
• 1/4-1/3 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9X5X3 inch loaf pan. I use the spray below instead--makes it so much easier!

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, oats, flaxmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the apples and pecans. (I like to add them at this point so that they are covered with the dry ingredients first and think it makes a little bit of a difference so they don't sink as far into the bread when baking.)

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk/yogurt, melted butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Then, mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with apples and pecans. Gently fold to incorporate the ingredients thoroughly.

Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan and top with cinnamon and sugar and the pecans reserved for topping. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack to cool before wrapping & storing.  Serve slightly toasted with butter.

Makes one large loaf that welcomes fall! Enjoy.