Apple Pecan Bread

There was a definite feeling of fall in the air this morning, it was 42° in the mountains. Luckily we woke up to fresh Apple Pecan Bread, toasted and spread with cream cheese. This recipe is delicious for a cool fall day, hope you enjoy

             Apple Pecan Bread               

Dry Ingredients

3 cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup of chopped pecans

3 cups of chopped, peeled, apples

Wet ingredients 

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of oil

3 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

Topping

2 tablespoons of soft butter

1/2 cup of uncooked oatmeal

3 tablespoons of sugar

1/4 of finely chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Oil and flour two loaf pans (Grand just used baking spray). 
2. Mix together, in a large bowl, the first eight ingredients. Stir well.
3. Mix together, in another bowl, the last four ingredients. Beat well.
4. Now is the time to mix your topping. Mix in a bowl all ingredients listed under Topping. stir together with a fork and set aside.
5. Combine all ingredients into large bowl, adding wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir well
6. Divide mixture into prepared loaf pans. Crumble topping evenly over both loves and gently pat into dough
7. Bake in preheated oven for  60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. Cool in pans for about five minutes. Then cool on a wire rack.

Hints from Grand

Grand covers the bottom and the long sides of the loaf pans with one long sheet of parchment paper, but not the two short ends. She lets it overhang several inches on either side. This way the bread does not stick and you can use the overhang to lift the bread from the pan. Grand uses this tip on all quick bread.