Apple Butter Quick Bread

Name: Apple Butter Quick Bread
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: Nonstick cooking spray; 1 cup/130 grams all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup/60 grams whole-wheat flour; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1/2 cup/120 milliliters vegetable, or other neutral, oil; 1/2 cup/100 grams granulated sugar; 1/2 cup/110 grams dark brown sugar; 2 large eggs, at room temperature; 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 3/4 cup/180 milliliters apple butter; 1/4 cup/60 milliliters plain yogurt; Turbinado sugar, as needed, for finishing

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

Total Time: About 1 hour
Rating: 4(423)
Notes: Read community notes

Apple butter gives this bread a deep autumnal flavor and helps keep it moist for several days after baking. Whole-wheat flour adds a bit of heartiness to the batter, which can be made using only one bowl and a whisk.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

Nonstick cooking spray
1cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
½cup/60 grams whole-wheat flour
1teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon ground cinnamon
½teaspoon ground allspice
¼teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½teaspoon fine sea salt
½cup/120 milliliters vegetable, or other neutral, oil
½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
½cup/110 grams dark brown sugar
2large eggs, at room temperature
1½teaspoons vanilla extract
¾cup/180 milliliters apple butter
¼cup/60 milliliters plain yogurt
Turbinado sugar, as needed, for finishing

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt to combine. Set aside.
Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk the oil, sugar and brown sugar until well combined (you may need to switch to a rubber spatula after a bit). Add the eggs one at a time and whisk well after each addition to incorporate. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Step 3
Add the flour mixture and stir just to combine. Add the apple butter and yogurt and mix well to incorporate. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread into an even layer.
Step 4
Sprinkle the surface of the loaf generously with turbinado sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then unmold onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5

423 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Rachel5 years ago

The first time I made this, I thought it was too sweet, but had amazing potential. I've refined the recipe to be a bit healthier: skip the white sugar entirely (without increasing the amount of brown sugar), even up the ratio of white to whole wheat flour (3/4 C of each), and skip the turbinado sugar topping. I also make this recipe as muffins, dropping the cooking time down to 23 mins. Either way, it's a total hit in my house and disappears the same day I make it or the very next day.

Marianne5 years ago

Hi, in Germany we don't know apple butter. Could someone tell me how to prepare it?

Ken Fricklas5 years ago

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018949-apple-butter

nb5 years ago

I made a huge amount of Melissa Clark’s pear-apple butter with cardamom recently and this recipe was a great way to use it up. I followed the advice of other commenters and made muffins (23 min bake time was perfect). I also skipped white sugar - they are plenty sweet with the brown sugar and the sugar in the fruit butter. I’m excited to eat these for breakfast this week.

TriciaPDX5 years ago

Too many spices can make it bitter. Try leaving out the spices till you've got the homemade apple butter incorporated, then taste and see what it needs. I would use the flour sifter to distribute extra spices across the top of the batter before stirring the spices (if any) into the final batter.

Emily C5 years ago

Probably one of the best desert breads I’ve ever made. I skipped the sugar on top and will be skipping the white sugar as some recommend next time to try.

Stephanie L.4 years ago

I made this recipe and didn’t do any subscriptions - made the recipe as is, weighed ingredients where possible. The flavor and texture were great, but it didn’t rise well (the middle sunk where I placed the butter knife to check it towards the end). However, my loaf pan was slightly larger (the next size up from the 9x5) so maybe that attributed to it. I’d like to try it again in the correct pan or in a cast iron. I didn’t mind the sweetness!

Jean8 months ago

Very good way to use up a jar of apple butter languishing in the frig. I reduced the sugars to 1/3 c. of each and still it was plenty sweet. Used 1c. white whole wheat flour and 1/2 c. AP flour. Next time I may add some chopped nuts.

jcgleas8 months ago

Cooked down home made applesauce to an almost apple butter--used NO sugar--none--not a bit--1/2 whole wheat 1/2 white. Excellent and plenty sweet for us.

Sue M8 months ago

I was gifted homemade apple butter and didn’t know what to do with it! This was great; I used extra cinnamon and skipped the other spices I don’t like; added a 1/3 cup raisins and reduced the white sugar. I used half whole wheat and half white flour. I may freeze the rest of the apple butter so I can make this again!

tara sharp11 months ago

Delicious, tender, flavorful. But for some reason, I couldn’t really taste the apples! The final result tasted more like a delicious spice cake. I might try adding some diced apples next time? I ended up slathering extra apple butter on the top, and that certainly did the trick :). Otherwise, a wonderful recipe that I will be making many times.

Hanna1 year ago

I made this recipe w a few changes as I didn’t have the apple butter and it turned out great: substituted apple butter with plain yogurt (so 240gr total), added two thinly cubed large apples into the batter and 1/2tsp baking powder for extra lift due to the fruit addition. I baked it in 8” square pan for approx 40 min. Really delicious & moist coffee cake. The apples became jammy, and provided for a nice texture. Next time I’ll add a bit of chopped walnuts and maybe some sultanas.

Hanna1 year ago

For those for whom the cake caves in- try not opening the oven for the first 35-40 min of the bake and only then rotating it if using a conventional oven. I baked loads of quick breads during the pandemic & giving it extra time to set prior to opening the oven and not rotating the pan fixed the caving-in problem that I was also experiencing.

deborah1 year ago

The middle of mine sunk too. I made the recipe without any changes, and my loaf pan was the size recommended. I really don't understand why the middle sunk, and was gooey, even with 30 minutes extra baking time.

georgie1 year ago

This makes really nice muffins. I skipped the white sugar and added a half teaspoon of baking powder. I also added a bit of extra nutmeg,used home made apple butter and farm yogurt. Used half and half flours. the muffins had a perfect texture, planty of flavor, and were very good. Will make again.

ELisaT-B1 year ago

I have run across this in recipes before, but haven’t yet had an answer to this question. My KA AP flour says 120g per cup, and it says 130g. Should I go by the total grams required in the recipe, or total grams of the flour on hand (by cup measurement)?

Dianne Jackson1 year ago

Using half white and half whole wheat flour, sour cream, leaving out the white sugar, and baking for 45 minutes, this came out just right. Very moist and tasty, especially with some butter.

SLCatherine1 year ago

Try 1/2 cup sugar(total), use less baking soda (muffins fell)

Ann O’Neill2 years ago

So I’ve made this so many times I don’t need the recipe anymore. When I left off in my first comment I said I’d try other butters: Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, etc. The consensus among friends and family is that Sweet Potato is the winner. Though I combined the three leftover butters into one bread and that was pretty amazing, too. The recipe has good bones. The coconut yogurt and the cinnamon added to the coconut sugar topping are great additions.

Ann O’Neill2 years ago

Made this with the only yogurt I have - Icelandic coconut - unrefined coconut oil and coconut sugar topping instead of turbinado. All respectable subs that don’t make it a different recipe imho. Absolutely fantastic tasting with a great crumb. The center did cave slightly as others mentioned but it wasn’t under baked in that spot as I feared it might be. Round 2 tonight with the jar of pumpkin butter from same local market. Next week their sweet potato butter. Going in regular rotation. Thx EJM!

Sharanya2 years ago

Used all whole wheat flour and left out white sugar. This was a hit!

Jess2 years ago

I did half AP flour, and half almond flour to up the protein and fiber. Also only used brown sugar, and added 1/4 t of cardamom, and a bit more yogurt than recipe called for. Made muffins, and they were light and fluffy and so delicious!

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