Apple Crumb Quick Bread #BreadBakers

Tart apples and lemon juice brighten up a crisp Autumn day when they are baked into a sweet quick bread that fills your whole house with the aroma of baked cinnamon apples. Nothing better!

You know how people used to do their colors? Well, I think we can categorize our general lives in the same sort of way. I am definitely a summer person. I want beach and water and sand and surf. A day out at the beach or on a boat, preferably one that moves along smartly, is the best day! But I do have an appreciation for the beauty of fall.

This month my Bread Bakers group is using fall flavors to welcome the coming of the new season. Our air is hardly crisp in Dubai, but temperatures are mercifully starting to fall, even if it’s just a little. I had a bit of reprieve last week though, because I was in the States to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday. The trees in Texas and Louisiana were just starting to turn and the weather was sweet. Sunny days and slightly cooler nights and early mornings. Just perfect for baking bread, don’t you think?

Is there anything that beats the smell of bread in the oven? Yeast or quick bread, sweet or savory, it really doesn’t matter. But when you add apples and cinnamon, the delightfulness of the aroma expands ten-fold.

This recipe is adapted from one on Cube 5107.

Ingredients
For the bread batter:
2 Granny Smith or other tart green apples
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups or 250g flour
1 cup or 200g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup or 125g sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the crumb topping:
1/2 cup, firmly packed, or 100g brown sugar
1/4 cup or 32g flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup or 60g butter

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a normal bread pan with baking parchment or grease it well with non-sticking baking spray.

Put your lemon juice in a small bowl.

Core, peel and finely dice your apples and put the pieces in the lemon juice and stir well as you go along.

In a small bowl, mix together your all your ingredients for the crumb topping, except the butter.

Cut the butter into pieces and work them into the dry mixture with two knives or a pastry blender. You are trying to make something that looks like very coarse sand but with the occasional small butter lump still.

Add a good handful of your apple pieces to the crumb topping and mix well.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add the rest of the apples pieces to the dry ingredients and stir to coat.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

Pour your liquid ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl and use a rubber spatula to stir until just combined.

Spoon the thick batter into your prepared bread pan.

Spread the crumb topping out over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you are a thermometer user, the internal temperature should reach 200°F or 94°C.

Cool in the bread pan for about 10 minutes and then remove and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to our Bread Baker host this month, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. Are you ready for fall weather and fall flavors?

• Apple Crumb Quick Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Apple Raisin Bread from A Shaggy Dough Story
• Browned Butter Semolina Pumpkin Bread from Sizzling Tastebuds
• Buttermilk Wheat Bread from Magnolia Days
• Eggless Apple Sage Cheddar Scones from Spill the Spices
• Fall Harvest Bread from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Fig Focaccia from My Catholic Kitchen
• Harvest Grains Bread from Hostess At Heart
• Mr. Potato Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Multigrain Bread With Seeds from Sneha's Recipe
• Pumpkin and Apple Cornmeal Griddle Cakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pumpkin Bread from la cocina de Aisha
• Pumpkin Breadfrom Sara's Tasty Buds
• Pumpkin Bread Rolls from Spiceroots
• Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls from Recipes, Food and Cooking
• Pumpkin Dinner Rolls with Cinnamon Butter from Bread Therapy
• Pumpkin, Poppy & Papaya Seeded Breadsticks from G'Gina's Kitchenette
• Pumpkin Raisin Bagels from Cook's Hideout
• Pumpkin Saffron Yeast Biscuits from The Schizo Chef
• Pumpkin Scones from A Baker's House
• Pumpkin Sourdough Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Schiacciata Con L'uva (Tuscan Style Grape, Olive and Goat Cheese Focaccia) from Ruchik Randhap
• Sesame Seeded Semolina Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Pumpkin Yeast Bread from Mayuri’s Jikoni

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

.

Eggnog Muffins with Eggnog Glaze

These delicious eggnog muffins with eggnog glaze are redolent with bourbon, eggnog, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, are perfect for an easy Christmas morning breakfast or afternoon treat.

It's Muffin Monday at my house, so you know I had to make a Christmasy muffin for you. My current motto is Eggnog everything! If you agree, you'll also want to check out my grandmother's homemade eggnog recipe, my beautiful eggnog pound cake and easy eggnog mousse, a boozy dessert the adults will love.

Eggnog Muffins with Eggnog Glaze

Ingredients
For the muffins:
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1/2 cup or 100g light brown sugar
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml eggnog (store-bought or homemade)
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1/4 cup or 60ml bourbon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the eggnog glaze:
1 cup or 125g confectioners or icing sugar
2 tablespoons eggnog
1 teaspoon bourbon
Pinch salt

Optional: Decorative sprinkles

Method
Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C and prepare your muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper muffin cups. degrees.

In a medium bowl mix flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In a large bowl whisk your eggnog, oil, bourbon, eggs, and vanilla.

Fold your wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. A little flour will still show and that’s fine.

Divide your batter between the muffin cups.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly in the pan. Take the muffins out of the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, mix all of your glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.

When the muffins are completely cool, drizzle on the glaze and sprinkle immediately with decorative sprinkles, if using.

Enjoy! Here's to eggnogging all the things!

Pin it!

.

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttermilk Muffins #MuffinMonday

Simple, buttery cinnamon muffins, sweetened with dark brown sugar, smell gorgeous in the oven and taste even better once you get them out.

I gotta tell you. Summer’s hard. I want to be everywhere, see everyone, but it just doesn’t seem to happen like I’d like it to. A good friend from my Kuala Lumpur days was in Houston this week and things piled up and I completely forgot about her Facebook message and missed seeing her. Now I don’t even know how to apologize. Because I did dearly want to spend time with her and “I forgot” seems like the worst insult, however unintentional.

Houston is home base for a few weeks each summer, and I make sure that the whole family sees all the doctors and dentists, etc. for annual check ups. That way the medical records have continuity despite our expat status and many moves all around the world. Our girls have seen the same eye doctor since elder daughter was three years old and she is now 23. Same with the dentist and pediatrician (although they’ve moved on from the pediatrician) and I still see the OB/GYN who saw me through my pregnancy with her. And my own childhood dentist. It just makes sense, but it does make for a hectic few weeks, getting all the appointments scheduled, while trying to spend quality time with friends and family and doing the shopping for new clothes, shoes, etc.

So, to my friends in Houston: If I haven’t seen you yet, you are on the list! And if you don’t hear from me, don’t hesitate to call or send me a message. It’s not that I don’t love you. I’m just busy chasing my own tail.

And, on Mondays, I'm making muffins.

Ingredients
For the muffin batter:
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
3/4 cup or 170g dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup or 180ml buttermilk (or 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar and top up to 3/4 cup with milk)
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs

For the topping:
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl mix together your flour, dark brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In another bowl, whisk your buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla and eggs.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Using a scoop or a tablespoon, distribute the batter among the muffin cups.

Mix the three tablespoons of sugar with one teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle liberally over all of the muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Remove the muffins from the muffin pan and cool further on a rack.

Enjoy!  How do you spend your summer holidays?

Banana Sour Cream Muffins #MuffinMonday

The secret to these muffins is the sour cream. It makes them so rich and moist I will double dog dare you to eat just one. Can’t be done.

Since I’m still in Uganda, once again, I’ve chosen an ingredient that is produced here in abundance, bananas. We’ve been eating them every day and the farm where we are staying grows several types, including ones called Matoki that the Ugandans serve cooked and mashed. They taste remarkably like potatoes.  For these muffins, use normal sweet bananas.

I’ll add a little bit about my first day at Masooli School and some photos after the recipe so for anyone who is interested, scroll on down.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups or 190g flour

1/2 cup or 100g cup brown sugar

1/4 cup or 50g sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 medium bananas or 175g when peeled)

3/4 cup or 185g sour cream

1 large egg

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin tin by spraying with non-stick spray or lining with muffin papers.

Combine your flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your bananas, egg, oil, sour cream and vanilla.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stop when it’s still quite dry looking. 

Divide your batter between the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pans and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

The first day at school got off to a late start when the battery on our rented van was dead and the engine refused to turn over. The plan had been to start our “specials” of art, sewing, technology and puzzles at 8:30 and get through four half-hour sessions before recess at 10:30. Then we’d keep going for another four sessions before the 1 p.m. lunch hour. And yet another four 30-minute sessions between 2 and 4 p.m. Well, that didn’t happen. But between day one and day two, we did manage to see all of the P4, P5, P6 and P7 children, teaching in all more than 200 children.

My sewing project was for each of them to make a small drawstring bag, tied with ribbon. So far, they have all started their bags and I am hoping they will finish them in one more 30-minute session each. I will also be working with the lower grades, stringing beads and playing with punch cards and shoestring for “stitching” practice.

Here’s an amazing thing: At the instigation of my teacher friend, Margaret, also known as MJ (the one who sucked me into this!) last school year was the first time that Masooli School had a Kindergarten class so, before that, they all arrived in P1 at the age of six with no knowledge of the alphabet or counting and, frankly, no experience in the how to behave in school or listen to the teacher. This year the P1 teacher is having a joyous time! Her students already know about half of the year’s curriculum and they all know how to sit and learn and listen and interact.

Which brings me to another change that has come about in this school the last two years. The children are gradually learning to interact, to question, to discuss, to collaborate. The old educating-by-rote method, that is sheer memorization, is slowing dying out as the teachers learn to teach in a new more dynamic, interactive style. Which is a pretty amazing breakthrough. I know that is a very western idea so it will take a while to overcome the innate shyness of these students but we are already seeing the blossoming of calculative thought and reasoning.

The kindergarten students with MJ.

Putting on their new shoes to make a "short call," the Uganda term for a trip to the toilet to pee pee.

Masooli School yard

Enjoying the donated laptops

Crowding around an iTouch

Art lab

Their favorite thing:  Selfies! With one of my fellow Dubai-based volunteers.

Then they all want to see!

The lunch line at 1 p.m. - serving a hot lunch to more than 250 students.
About 120 little ones who go home before lunch get porridge mid-morning.

Sharing her juice drink in a bag with her friends.

Some of my students with their bags.  They were so proud to have sewn them! If you'd like to see photos of the area around Masooli and read about my first impressions of Uganda, check out my Muffin Monday post from last week.