Apple-Cinnamon Quick Bread

The other day at the grocery store, I passed a beautiful bag of local, fresh-picked apples.  They had a gorgeous red hue to their skin and very little of the visible bruising that often plagues bagged apples.  As an additional plus, the store was selling them for a mere $0.89/pound.  Perfect for lunches and snacks this week! I scooped a couple bags up, threw them in my cart, and continued on my merry way.

However, I failed to check what exact variety of apple I had so eagerly plopped into my grocery cart.  Normally, between the three of us in our tiny household, we easily consume about 6 pounds of apples a week.  However, all three of us are slightly picky about what types of apples we like.  Red delicious are definitely out (no flavor) as are Paula Red, McIntosh, Granny Smith, Cortland, and Mutsu.  All of these work great in various baked goods and pies, we just prefer other, sweeter, crisper varieties for eating out of hand.  And the huge bag of apples I grabbed just happened to be McIntosh.

I tried to feed them to Paul.  He quickly replied with "maybe I'll just take a banana instead."

I tried to feed them to Matthew.  He just pushed the slices around on his tray and then tried to feed them to the cat.

I tried to eat them myself, but I honestly cannot get past the texture.  Just a little too soft for my liking.

So, the only logical thing to do with an extra 8 pounds of unwanted, unloved apples is to bake with them!  So I made a delicious batch of applesauce, a couple jars of apple butter, and a scrumptious Apple-Cinnamon Quick Bread, which I will share with you today!

The bread was deliciously moist, wonderfully fragrant, and perfectly sweet.  Served warm with a drizzle of amaretto glaze, it made a simple, weeknight dessert.  Served sliced thick with cream cheese, it made a special breakfast (this was Matthew's favorite way to eat it!).  And, it used up about 6 of those extra apples!

Apple-Cinnamon Quick Bread
Nistler Family Original

1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cup apples, peeled and chopped fine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together the oil and sugar until well blended.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well blended.  Stir in the vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.  Form a well in the center of the flour mixture and then pour in the wet ingredients.  Using a rubber spatula, fold everything together gently until no flour remains.  Gently fold in the apples.

Pour the batter into a greased 9x5" loaf pan.  Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few, moist crumbs attached.  Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

Wrapped tightly in plastic, the bread should keep well for 3 days.  The flavor intensifies overnight!