Apple Cider Bread

I found a recipe for apple cider bread and muffins on Yankee Magazine's website. As usual, I modified the recipe. The original can be found here: Yankee Magazine Apple Cider Bread or Muffins. For some reason, I think of molasses as being a traditional New England type of thing so I substituted brown sugar (sugar with a bit of molasses added in) for white sugar in things. I also wanted it to have more of a fall spice flavor to it (like the pumpkin spice) so I changed the amount and type of spices the recipe called for.

The very large loaf of apple cider bread.

Apple Cider Bread or Muffins

Yields: 12 mini muffins, 2 dozen muffins, 1 large loaf of bread

Ingredients

• 1 c. butter (2 sticks)^*
• 3/4 c. dark brown sugar^†
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 3 eggs 

• 2 c. all purpose flour
• 2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 
• 1 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ginger
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 1/4 t. cloves
• 2 T baking powder

• 2 cups apple cider (generously measured)
• 2 cups apples (about 4 apples), peeled, cored, and chopped (it is all right if there is extra apple) I used mackintosh apples because I like the way they get mushy when cooked.

(1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. (2) Grease pans. (3) Cream butter^* and the sugar in a large bowl. (4) Add the eggs and cream thoroughly. (5) Add 1/2 c. flour and seasoning and add a bit of cider then mix. Continue adding flour and a bit of cider a little at a time until these ingredients are used up. Add the baking powder last. (6) Stir in chopped apples. (7) Add the batter to the greased pans. (8) Bake mini muffins for about 15 minutes, muffins for about 25 minutes, and the loaf for about 50 minutes.

I do not like chunks of fruit in my food
so I put the apple chunks in my chopper
to make them extra tiny.

The end result, after I took a sample.

^*When you cream butter and sugar something magical happens, the sugar cuts up the fat in the butter and helps it hold air bubbles. If you replace the butter with vegetable oil, there's no magic and the quick bread ends up flat, life less, and dry. It's still edible but not pleasurable to eat. For me this is a special treat for when I con't care about my LDL or a good treat for my husband and in-laws when apples are on sale.

^†I haven't tried reducing the amount of sugar yet (since the replacing the butter with vegetable oil turned out badly) so I can't say how it would work out but I would try reducing the sugar down to 1 cup.