Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread – Chunks of apple and swirls of cinnamon in this easy quick bread recipe that doesn’t even need a mixer!
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If you like Cinnamon Quick Bread or Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Quick Bread, you’ll love this easy Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread!
APPLE CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD
I’m excited about this bread for a few reasons. First, I didn’t think I liked anything with baked apple (it’s a texture thing), but I’m trying to be an adult and try new things.
Last week we were at a cider mill and my mom bought a loaf of their apple bread. I tried it and actually liked it. Enough that I wanted to try to recreate it which leads to the second reason why I’m excited about it.
I think I did a pretty good job recreating it! I did some research and came up with this recipe that I think is really, really good.
I asked on Facebook what your favorite type of apples to bake with are and got mixed responses. Like I said, I haven’t liked baked apples in the past (apple pie, apple bread, apple tarts…) so I wasn’t sure where to start. I ended up using Gala apples because they’re sweet and one of my favorites.
I diced the apples pretty small (though you can still see them in the pics and definitely still taste them) but if you like big chunks, chop big chunks. The streusel makes a crunchy, sugary crust that is so good.
APPLE CINNAMON SWIRL BREAD INGREDIENTS
- Apples – Use your favorite type of apple & chop them as big or small as you like. I used Gala apples & chopped them fairly small.
- Flour – All purpose white flour.
- Cinnamon – Use a good quality ceylon cinnamon for the best taste.
- Nutmeg – Nutmeg has a warm & spicy smell and flavor that pairs beautifully with cinnamon.
- Baking Soda – Baking soda gives the bread its rise.
- Salt – To bring out the other flavors.
- Vegetable Oil – You can use either vegetable oil OR unsweetened applesauce in this recipe. Applesauce makes a slightly denser bread. You swap them out on a 1:1 basis. I sometimes do half oil, half applesauce.
- Eggs – Three large eggs.
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar.
- Brown Sugar – Adding brown sugar leaves the bread soft & moist.
- Vanilla Extract – I know vanilla is expensive right now, but use a real vanilla, not imitation!
- Butter – You’ll use softened butter as the base of the streusel that you’ll swirl in.
This recipe makes two loaves – I immediately had to wrap one up to give away because there was a good chance I would have eaten it. By myself. The whole thing.
CAN I REPLACE OIL WITH APPLESAUCE IN BAKING?
Yes, you can swap out oil with applesauce when you’re baking. The ratio is 1:1 for substituting. Use unsweetened applesauce to not alter the flavor of the recipe. I make this bread both ways – sometimes using vegetable oil, sometimes using applesauce…sometimes using half and half. I find the applesauce version to be slightly denser.
HOW MANY APPLES ARE IN 3 CUPS?
This is depend on the size of your apples, but it took two large Gala apples for me, diced, to equal 3 cups.
Tools found on Amazon to help you
- Loaf pans – you don’t have to get fancy, but remember that you need 2 for this recipe.
- An apple slicer will make your life easier – to get a jump on dicing the apples.
- So will a good peeler – I grabbed a random peeler from the drawer and almost immediately threw it away with the peels. Stick with the OXO one, it’ll make you happy.
- And a good silicone spatula – the beauty of this recipe (one of them, anyway) is that you don’t need a hand mixer, but you do need to mix it. I like the one piece silicone spatulas.
Have more apples to bake with? Try these recipes:
- The BEST apple desserts – a roundup of some great recipes.
- Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake
- Apple Pull Apart Bread
- Apple Peanut Butter Blondies
- Sheet Pan Apple Pie with Oat Crumb Topping
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Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 3 cups apples diced (this was 2 large apples for me)
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce or vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the bread
- Preheat the oven to 325 and lightly spray two 9×5 loaf pans with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Peel your apples and dice into small pieces.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt and whisk together.
- In another large bowl, add the applesauce (or vegetable oil), eggs, sugars, and vanilla and mix with a whisk until fully combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in batches (I did three parts) and stir with a spatula until fully combined. The batter will be very thick.
- Stir in the diced apples.
- Pour half of the batter into each prepared loaf pan – try to keep the amounts even.
To make the streusel
- In a small bowl, add the softened butter, cinnamon, and sugar and mix together with a fork. Drop the streusel mixture onto the tops of the batter and lightly swirl.
- Bake for 1 hour then check on your loaves. Insert a toothpick into the center – if it comes out clean, with moist crumbs, your bread is done.
- Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then lightly run a knife around the edges to loosen. Flip onto a plate, slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Need more apple ideas?
Originally published October 13, 2014
Wonderful fall recipe! I ramped it up a bit by adding 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
Thanks Fran!