19 June, 2013
Apple Banana Bread
Earlier in the month we had a string of hot, humid days. Hot is one thing, but the humidity just sucks the life out of you. Especially when you are wrangling a toddler and an infant. I work in a meat locker office that is so cold I wear a sweater every day. Rachel and the boys do not get to enjoy such luxury as our old steam-heated house does not have central air. Needless to say, when it is that hot out, not a whole lot of cooking or baking goes on inside.
But the heat did break, and on one particularly rainy day Rachel and Toddler Boy decided to make this yummy Apple Banana Bread. I love banana bread. I love apple bread. Apple Banana Bread? Yes please!
Rachel said Toddler Boy was so excited to try this he was asking for some before she even got it on a cooling rack. That boy – he’s got good taste! I am sure it was absolute torture for him to have to wait for his Mommy to photograph before he could have some. Case in point:
Hahahah. 🙂
These boys are getting big.
Every night I go in their rooms to check on them. Really it is just an excuse for me to stand over them and steal a few more minutes before the day ends, my smart phone providing some illumination in the dark. I don’t exactly have any profound thoughts while I stand there, looking at them. It’s usually close to midnight and I am beyond exhausted and ready for bed. But I just want to watch them sleeping, soak them up. Reflect on how toddler boy used to rotate himself around the bed 180 degrees over the course of the night as he settled in to deep sleep; now he is too big to do that. That, and he has 5 stuffed animals in his crib that must always be with him when he goes to sleep; Mickey, Lightning McQueen, Puppy Dog, Elmo, and Lion.
And the younger one. That sweet little boy who I caught blowing raspberries in his sleep 2 months ago. Under a certain light (smart phone light perhaps) he looks more and more like a toddler and less like a baby.
No deep thoughts. Just reflecting on how time is passing. I stay the same, but they get bigger, older, smarter. I am definitely not getting smarter, but I’ll blame that on the lack of sleep. 😉
Just a few random thoughts I wanted to share, more for me and Rachel to remember (knowing how terrible our memories are as of late), of the humors, and sometimes challenges, of parenthood right now
- Toddler Boy has been opening the back screen door despite our “requests” that he not. Last week Luna, our Corgi-dor, escaped while Toddler was doing this. With my hands in chopped meat as I prepared dinner I hear him saying “No Dog. No Dog”. I rinsed my hands and went to see what he is talking about, thinking maybe a neighbor’s dog is outside. “What dog?” I asked him, I didn’t see anything outside. “Luna. No Luna.” he says. Suddenly I realized what he meant. Luna was gone. Great! I stuck my head out the door and called for her, and to her credit she came bounding out from behind the garage and into the house. Cute the first time, and a funny story, but he’s now done this a couple times. Yikes! The baby gate is now blocking everyone’s access to the door to prevent any further escapes.
- This is Rachel’s story but I’ll try my best at it. Toddler Boy had a stray string on the sleeve of his shirt, he kept saying “String. String”. Rachel cut it and Toddler Boy took it. He says “Fuzz,” as detached stringes then become fuzz. Then he stretches out the string, holds it up to Rachel’s pants and says “Tiny Penis” (HA! Still working out the concept that not everyone is a boy apparently!)
- The day before Father’s Day Rachel painted the front porch ( I sanded it the week before, I’m just not a careful painter I am told). Anyway, while she was working, I had the boys. We had a nice walk behind an old factory building near our house, got some good play time in, then went to the grocery store for lunch and food for the week. I was feeling exceptionally brave and took both boys. I don’t know how I did it but I survived the store with minimal drama! I give Rachel, and any parent, credit for regularly taking more than 1 kid grocery shopping. It’s a lot of work! Hahah
- Toddler Boy breaks my heart every few mornings when he asks me to play while I’m getting ready for work, then sobbing when I kiss him goodbye to leave. Extra heart breakage when he asks me “Daddy Home Day?” – which is what he calls it when I don’t have work.
- Loving that Baby Boy gets super excited and starts shrieking, kicking his legs, launch out of Rachel’s arms and trying to reach out to me when I come home from work.
🙂
<3
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large bananas (mashed)
- 1 large apple (peeled, cored, chopped)
Instructions
- Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugars.
- Blend in eggs, oil, applesauce, milk, and vanilla.
- Stir in banana and apple.
- Pour batter into greased loaf pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until toothpick test comes out clean.
25 thoughts
This apple-banana bread looks awesome and will have to try soon. Only thing I would add is lots of chopped nuts, preferably walnuts but since I have lots of pecans in the freezer will probably use them. I look forward to your recipes each week.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Walnuts or pecans would be an excellent addition! Big fans of pecans here so you can’t go wrong there 🙂
I currently have this in my oven…. I was looking for something simple, being that I had bananas going bad and didn’t want to run to the store. Luckily, I had all needed ingredients in my pantry! I can’t wait to try this when it comes out of the oven. My house smells amazing just from mixing the batter together. Thank you!!!
Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did Ashley!
Just made this today and its delicious! I had to cook the bread nearly a half hour longer than recommended for some reason…my oven might not be heating properly or because I used a glass bread pan?
Hmm… Not sure about why the extra time was needed- guess that is why the ol’ toothpick test serves us so well 🙂
Just had a taste…incredible and sooo yummy! The apple adds a great flavor and I’m so happy I made it 🙂 how many estimated calories are in this? Thank you SOOO much for the recipe!
So glad you like it. I’ve no idea how many calories, but I bet you could find a calorie calculator on Google!
Can you pls suggest me another option for Applesauce coz we don’t get Apple sauce in India.
Hi Precilla, Maybe you could try another simple fruit puree? Do you have access to apples (or pears) to try and make your own? It is a pretty simple process (easier than bread!) if you have the fruit! You’d have to experiment with other fruits I think 🙂
Precilla, if you have apples you can make your own applesauce. Just sauté diced apple in a saucepan over medium low heat until mushy.
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I made this bread this afternoon. Added 1 cup quick oats and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Took an additional 20 minutes to bake but the end product turned out delicious. My husband definitely wants me to make this again. Thanks for a quick & tasty recipe 🙂
I have this in the oven right now and can’t wait to slice off a taste! What a great combo of apples and bananas!
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My mom’s secret when making banana bread . . she separates the eggs and adds yolks to batter. After everything is combined, she folds in egg whites that she whipped to form soft peaks. This makes your bread lighter & not so dense, if you know what I mean.
I am using applesauce instead of apples….how much do I use? Thank you.
I made this last night and it was soooo good!!! I made a few changes based on what I had in the house – I used white whole wheat flour, light brown sugar, 2 small apples, canola oil, and Penzey’s baking spice and a Mott’s unsweetened applesauce “to go” cup – it was a bit more than the recipe called for, but it worked. I got one full size loaf and 2 small ones from this one recipe. I find my breads come out better if I don’t fill the pan more than half way. I cooked them for about 45 minutes and they were done.
Thanks for posting. Will be making a double batch tonight since I still have 4 very ripe bananas left – my husband actually took some to work with him and he never takes snacks with his lunch!
Meghan
So glad it was a hit Meghan! Thanks for adding your baking changes too- good to know what works!
Can you use coconut flour or rice flour for this receipe . I am trying to make this gluten free. Thank you,.
You could give it a try! We’ve not used either, so it would be an experiment on your part. If you do give it a go, let us know how it works out!
I got 2 loaves out of this recipe.
This bread was wonderful and so very moist! Thank You for sharing.
Tasted good when I mixed it, looking forward to have some wth my coffee. I hope mine come out of the oven looking like the picture. Let you know how it came out.
Enjoy!