Celebrating Apple Day! Mini Apple Cinnamon Loaves Recipe

Happy National Apple Day! Bushels of these babies are all over the place and in all kinds of colors as well. They're probably used the most out of any other fruit in baking. The apple pie itself is considered an American staple! I don't have an apple pie recipe for you today but you can check out our recipe for an Apple Cinnamon Galette or you can stick around and try this recipe for Mini Apple Cinnamon Loaves. These delightful treats are easy to make and worth the effort, not that you need much because they're so simple.

In full disclosure, I had one aunt tell me that these weren't sweet enough. I'll admit, I held back on the sugar but in all fairness I didn't want these to be super sweet. If you prefer your quick breads to be sweeter, simply double the sugar measurement and you should be set. Another suggestion would be to add a glaze. I think a vanilla glaze would be delicious or maybe a brown sugar glaze. I used to be intimidated by glazes but they've since turned into my favorite final touch. I'm not a frosting person, I kind of hate it so a glaze is the perfect solution.

Dice the apples fairly small. I'm not super consistent with the size but if you really like a uniform end result, I would recommend making sure they're as similar in size as you can get them. The milk, butter and applesauce ensure these are very moist loaves one thing you don't have to worry about is dry mouth. Michael's sells mini loaf containers that you can bake in the oven which are great for gifts. If you can't find these, using a mini loaf pan will work just as well. Whatever you decide to use, make sure you grease it well. I prefer greasing with butter because it doesn't change the flavor or leave a residue but cooking spray or oil should work just fine as well.

MINI APPLE CINNAMON LOAVES
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/5 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/2 cup Applesauce
1/4 cup Milk
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Apples, peeled and diced

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan or baskets with butter or cooking spary.

2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

3. In another bowl, whisk together applesauce, milk, eggs, butter and vanilla until well-combined. Add in apples. 

4. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until fully combined. The batter might be slightly lumpy which is ok. It will also be on the thin side which might be alarming but don't worry. They will turn out just fine. Pour the batter about 1/2-1/3 of the way full in the loaf pan or baskets. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.