Apple Bread

I still have apples everywhere, waiting for cranberries to be in the stores so I can make batch after batch of cranapplesauce. In the meantime, it's high time to use up some of these apples! I posted on Oct 16 about making apple pie jam. Today I'm going to make some apple bread, a nice quick bread. I've had this recipe for so long that I can't remember where it came from - my original copy is actually a handwritten recipe card. This only uses about 1 large apple per loaf, but it's very good and freezes very nicely. It's also a very simple recipe with very few ingredients, making it an easy quick bread to tackle. While apples are $1/lb in most places, buy some apples and do apple week with me!

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 T buttermilk (you can use fresh milk or add 1/8 tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. chopped apples (peel, core, chop, then measure)
1. Grease a bread pan. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cream the sugar and shortening (mix until creamy, smooth, slightly whipped).
3. Mix in the eggs, milk, and vanilla.
4. Mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda, then stir that into the wet mixture.
5. Stir in the chopped apples.
6. Spread into the prepared bread pan, then bake for one hour or until a toothpick poked into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Apple Pie Jam

We go through a *lot* of jam here because we put it on sandwiches, toast, and muffins plus use it as a glaze on meat, an add in for oatmeal, a sweetener in tea or coffee, a filling for cakes, cookies, and muffins, and swirled through brownies and blondies before baking. C's favorite jam is apple pie jam, and our apples are now harvested from our two mature, high yielding trees. Result: I'm making apple pie jam! If you can, this is a simple boiling water bath process. I'm sure that this jam can also be frozen, and it certainly can be put into jars or containers and refrigerated, sharing the extra jars with friends and family. If you don't can this, it is not shelf stable, so make sure to preserve it or refrigerate it!

4 c. finely chopped/minced fresh apples, peels, cores, and bad spots removed
a little water - check out the directions, probably 1/4 c. - 1/2 c.
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp margarine or butter (optional , and note that this is a *teaspoon* not a tablespoon, just a pat will work)
1 box dry/powdered pectin
4 c. sugar
1 c. packed light brown sugar

1.  Put the finely chopped apples into a quart measuring glass, then fill with water so that the water also measures 4 cups - you are just filling in the little nooks and crannies with water.
2.  Put the apples and water, margarine, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and pectin into a fairly large pot (I like to use an 8 quart stock pot to ensure that it doesn't boil over). Stir to combine, and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Boiling is rather vague, since there isn't much liquid, but you'll know it by the bubbling of what liquid there is.
3.  Add the two sugars and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil over high heat. When it is at a full roiling boil (one that cannot be stirred down or one in which the bubbling doesn't stop when you stir it), continue to boil and stir for 1 full minute.
4.  Remove from heat and transfer to jars/containers. If canning, fill prepared jars, adjust lids and bands, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. If freezing, fill containers of choice, seal, cool, and freeze. If refrigerating, fill containers of choice, seal/put a lid on, and refrigerate.

This recipe makes 7 or 7 1/2 cups of jam, which is a dark caramel color speckled with lighter pieces of the apple. It's lovely and distinctive looking as well as delicious!