Whole Wheat Quick Apple Bread {With Butterscotch Glaze}

A loaf of freshly baked apple bread is the autumn/winter equivalent of banana bread. I have often talked about my love for banana bread and my habit of tweaking the recipe every time I bake one.

Just around Thanksgiving, the stores are stocked with more apple varieties than one can imagine. Everyone has a favorite apple variety. Mine is the sightly small Gala apples. They are the perfect size for a snack, sweet with a slightly crisp texture and takes well to baking.

I’ve used them in cakes and crumbles and muffins before, and now, in this beautiful loaf as well.

You did notice the chocolate chips, didn’t ‘ya? I couldn’t resist adding some on top!

I also used a small amount of butterscotch morsels. We’ll talk about that in a minute.

Back to the apple bread. This one is a quick bread. It doesn’t veer close to cake territory like a banana bread tends to do. Even with the chocolate chips and butterscotch morsels. You can bake this loaf and happily eat it for breakfast. Not that I don’t eat banana bread for breakfast… hehe!

I used whole wheat flour, the semi-smooth variety with a bit of bran included and just a little bit of all-purpose flour to add a touch of lightness to the batter. The bread has absolutely no butter or oil. It does have two eggs, you do need a bit of fat to help with the rise. The moistness is achieved by a cup full of beaten yogurt.

I wanted this bread to a have a super crunchy crust. A streusel topping is what came to mind initially. But instead of using any butter, I simply combined some chocolate chips and brown sugar with a bit of flour and spread the mixture on top of the batter. It baked to this amazing, crunchy, simply perfect crust!

And since the whole bread is so good and so healthy, I decided to indulge just a tad. I melted a couple of tablespoons of butterscotch chips and drizzled on top of the baked loaf. A tiny bit of decadence in each slice! I think we deserve it. I’ve been nice this year after all!

The bread is amazing as such, of course. But try a slice lightly toasted with a bit of butter or honey smeared on top. Oh yes!

WHOLE WHEAT QUICK APPLE BREAD {WITH BUTTERSCOTCH GLAZE}

You will need:

For the apple bread,

• Whole wheat flour – 1 1/2 cups
• All purpose flour – 1/2 cup
• Baking powder – 2 tsp
• Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Eggs – 2, large
• Brown sugar – 1/2 cup, loosely packed
• White sugar – 1/4 cup
• Yogurt – 1 cup
• Apples – 1 cup, thinly chopped (I used sweet red Gala apples)

For the topping,

• Brown sugar – 1 1/2 tbsp
• Flour – 1 tbsp (whole wheat or AP flour)
• Chocolate chips – 1/4 cup

For the butterscotch glaze,

• Butter – 1/2 tbsp
• Butterscotch morsels or chips – 2 tbsp

How to:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F. Line and grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan with foil or parchment paper.
• Sift the dry ingredients (from flour to salt, as listed above) in a bowl. Whisk well to combine and keep aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugars together till creamy. Add yogurt and beat for a minute till creamy.
• Add the dry ingredients to this and beat till just combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to incorporate all the dry ingredients. Fold in the chopped apples.
• In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and keep aside.
• Pour the batter in to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the prepared topping evenly on top.
• Bake for 40 minutes or till it passes the toothpick test. Check at 30 minutes to see if the top is browning too rapidly. If so, tent with foil and continue baking.
• Remove from oven and rest in pan for 10 minutes. Remove on to a wire rack and cool completely.
• While the apple bread is still warm, prepare the butterscotch glaze. Melt the butter and butterscotch chips in the microwave in 20-second increments (mine was all melted in 50 seconds). Mix well with a fork and once it is of pouring consistency, drizzle all over the apple bread loaf.
• Serve slices of apple bread along with tea or coffee for a hearty snack or healthy breakfast.

Notes:

• The butterscotch glaze was an after-thought really and I made only a small amount for a scant drizzle. Feel free to scale the recipe up for more glaze. Work fast because butterscotch seems to harden faster than melted chocolate.
• You can replace some of the yogurt with apple cider or apple sauce for a deeper apple flavor in the bread.
• Add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon or nutmeg powder if that’s something you like. I love the flavor, but the guys of the house are not big fans. So I didn’t use any this time.

Enjoy thick slices of delicious apple bread and stay cozy this time of year!

While you are here, take a look at a delicious apple coffee cake with walnuts recipe by the talented Sonal.

Next up on my to-do list is a savory quick bread with jalapenos, preferably. The bakery at our local grocery store carries a sinfully delicious queso and jalapeno bread and I’d love to try my own version. What do you say? Any good recipes you know of? Do share.

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