Happy National Apple Week! I love biting into a juicy apple any time of the year, but this fruit really reminds me of fall, which is creeping up on us and will be here before we know it. The second week of August celebrates the apple, giving us a little taste of this season and its delicious flavors.
Apples are one of the most versatile fruits when it comes to cooking and baking. Like some of the other fruits that are celebrated during the month of August (peaches and cherries), they can be used in both sweet and savory ways and perfectly good eaten on their own, as well. Apple slices with peanut butter is probably one of the most popular snacks (and super good for you too, in moderation of course!). Bubby once made a really good baked chicken dish with apples and apricots that I died over. It was really, really good; she probably got the recipe from the Food section of Thursday's Sun Sentinal newspaper — she gets a lot of ideas from the newspaper and other publications she randomly gets in the mail. Anyway, I personally love apples when baked in dessert. So, in honor of this food holiday, let me bring you back to a quick bread recipe I made a few months ago. I was craving some kind of apple dessert so I immediately went to work, browsing through my favorite foodie blogs looking for the perfect recipe to take on. I'm a HUGE fan of cinnamon and love any recipe that uses it — usually I'll double the amount recommended. When I found this apple cinnamon bread, I knew it was the winner. Check out Brown Eyed Baker for the recipe here.
The crumb topping was the best part. The bread itself was very moist, with apple pieces in every bite. I had a piece for breakfast and it hit the spot, but it could easily be enjoyed as a midday snack or dessert topped with vanilla ice cream, yogurt or whipped cream. My Bubby said it was my best effort in the kitchen yet.With that kind of encouragement, I will definitely be whipping this up again and again and again. I have a few ideas for more quick breads I want to make in the future, especially once fall is upon us and the flavors of pumpkin, chai, and rich tastes of honey and caramel are in abundance. Just thinking about it makes me so excited and anxious for this time of year!
