Dutch Apple Bread (or Muffins)

The last of our crop of apples was languishing on the table, and I had a tea party to attend, so I diced them up and used one of my go-to recipes for apple bread.  It's called Dutch Apple Bread, after a recipe I found online years ago, on a now defunct website.  I'm not sure why a recipe that calls for orange juice would be 'Dutch,' but I've retained the name out of habit.  (I have substituted milk or buttermilk on occasion when I have no OJ in the house.)

 

Why yes, those are store-bought eggs on the counter, why do you ask?  The girls are coming up on three months without laying now - we've had a talk.

I doubled the recipe twice, since I had the apples, all the ingredients out, and the bowls were already dirty (quadrupling the ingredients would have overwhelmed my mixing arm).  This time, I made three loaves of bread, and a dozen nicely-sized muffins which I find easier to grab out of the freezer for breakfast.  The recipe below will make one loaf or one dozen muffins.

 

 

Country Bulk's Dutch Apple Bread

 

2 cups all purpose flour (or 1/2 and 1/2 all purpose / whole wheat - white whole wheat works nicely)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup chopped apples (I leave the peel on and call it 'rustic')

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup orange juice

1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecans here, but walnuts work nicely as well)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together the butter and sugar (I had my butter out on the counter overnight, and the house stayed so cold that I popped it into the microwave for 30 seconds to help soften it for ease of use.)  Add the eggs and the vanilla to the creamed ingredients, and beat well.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and add alternately with the juice.  The mix may seem a bit dry, but the apples will make a difference.  Fold in the apples and the nuts. 

 

Bake in a greased 9x5 loaf pan (oiled) for 50-65 minutes, until the loaf tests done.  The moisture content of the apples you choose can alter the baking time, so be prepared to wait the full 65 minutes. 

 

For the muffins, I tested and was able to remove them from the same 350 degree oven at 28 minutes, though that timing will vary as well.

 

And it was delicious!