Savory Saturday: Great-Grandma's Applesauce Bread

The inspiration for this week's recipe came from the random bag of walnuts and some crusty raisins I had in my pantry.  I knew that I needed to use them up or they would end up in the trash by the end of the week, and so I went to some of my favorite cook books to look for a way to use them up.  

Scouring the pages of an old church cookbook, I found a recipe for a bread that I loved as a child but had completely forgotten about in recent years.  It was a recipe for my Great Grandma Lois' Applesauce Bread, a deliciously moist bread that can be eaten for breakfast but is sweet enough for a midday treat or an evening dessert.  I asked my mom if this was indeed the tasty treat I remembered from my childhood, and she confirmed that yes, it most absolutely was.  Minutes later I was in the kitchen, measuring and mixing and filling my home with the scents of cinnamon and sugar.

This is an extremely easy recipe that requires little more than dry goods you most likely have on hand and a little bit of your time as bread takes quite awhile to bake.  Even if you have never made bread before, you mark my words, make a couple of these loaves and your family (and their tummies!) will be completely impressed.

Great Grandma's Applesauce Bread

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups applesauce

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer walnuts)

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans (I prefer to use Crisco, but a nice layer of Pam or some butter and flour should work just as well).

Beat the eggs and then add sugar, oil, applesauce, milk, and vanilla.  In a separate boil, combine all dry ingredients.  Add half of the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix well.  Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until everything is moist.  Add nuts and raisins and mix by hand.  

Split the batter between both pans and shake a bit so that the batter settles.  Bake the loaves for 1 hour or until done.  Remove the pans and place them on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove bread from pans to cool completely on a wire rack.  Don't cut before they are completely cool, or the bread will squish and break and crumble into an ugly mess.

Serve with coffee or some hot tea.  Mmmmm.  Tasty.