Apple Pecan Bread

En français ici.
My high school French teacher, who I am still in touch with (funny what friends one keeps from high school), came to Paris last week with a group of students from my old school. It was fun to see him and strange to think that I'd been on that same trip nine years ago (now all the students seemed intimidated by me!). But my french teacher and I don't only share a passion for French; we also both love to cook and being the thoughtful person he is, he brought me these wonderful presents from the States:


As you can imagine, I put them to good use immediately, making a pecan version of these brown sugar muffins. Once those were all eaten up, I got to thinking what else I could be baking. For weeks and weeks and weeks in my CSA, I've been getting apples. I guess they're the only fruit that lasts through the winter, but they've been getting less fresh as the season goes on and they're really best for cooking. D. made a delicious apple/apricot tart this week, but there were still apples leftover. So I decided to make this apple pecan bread.

Many apple bread recipes that I looked at were written for 2 loaves. I only have one loaf pan so I had to adapt. For those of you who live in small apartments or just don't have multiple loaf pans, this is for you.


D. insisted this was the best bread in the whole world and I have to say, it's pretty darn yummy. I'll be making more of it ASAP.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups diced apples (about 1 large or 2 small)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (plus 10-12 pecans, chopped, for garnish)

Preheat the oven to 325F/170C. In a small bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt, and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, white and brown sugar and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.


Fold in the apples and pecans and spoon the batter into a well-greased loaf pan.

Here, I toasted a few extra chopped pecans with a couple tablespoons of brown sugar in a dry pan on medium heat and topped the apple bread with it. This makes for a deliciously sweet, crunchy crust and I highly recommend it.

Put in the oven and bake 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack (so the bottom doesn't get soggy as it cools).