Apple Cinnamon Beer Bread

Apple Cinnamon Beer Bread

I was recovering from the bar exam at my cabin and noticed we had a ton of apples and apple flavored beer. I wanted to do something for my family to apologize for being difficult while I was studying so I decided to make beer bread.  I had previously made beer bread based on a recipe I found Farmgirl Fare and it turned out well. It was a generic recipe so I thought I could adapt it to include the ingredients we had at our cabin, and make a delicious breakfast for my family,




1 (12 oz) bottle of Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat beer
3 cups flour (I used all-purpose)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Nutmeg
1 large Braeburn apple (small chunks)

Top:
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Sugar

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes

The finished product!

Pre-heat the oven to 375º.  Lightly grease a bread pan (the one I used was roughly 8 inches). In a bowl combine the flour, 1 T sugar, 1 T baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 2 T cinnamon and 2 T nutmeg. When I added the cinnamon and nutmeg, I originally added 1 T, but it appeared to not be enough so I sprinkled in more, roughly another Tablespoon.  When adding the cinnamon and nutmeg aim for the batter to be a light brown color. Mix in the bottle of beer. Finally, mix in the chunked apple. I used Braeburn because that is what I had. Another type (I would consider Granny Smith) would be just as good.

Pour the batter into the greased pan. Then in a separate bowl, combine the 1 T cinnamon and 1 T sugar reserved for the top. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the bread. Bake for 40 minutes. Insert a tooth pick or knife into the middle. When I did this, the bread was still doughy so I baked for an additional 5 minutes.  Let the bread cool in the pan. You may wish to turn the bread on the side to prevent it from collapsing (per advice of my mother). Mix some sugar, cinnamon, and butter together and enjoy! I will be eating this tomorrow for breakfast at the cabin, and my family and I am looking forward to it.


UPDATE: My mom and I had this for breakfast with cinnamon sugar butter and it was amazing. The only thing I would maybe change is adding more apple. I love apple so the more the better. For most people (aka my mom) the amount of apple was fine.

Pumpkin Bran Muffins

I start class again later this week. Unfortunately my classes are in the morning. Well surprise surprise I am not a morning person. I wanted to make something that would be filling, and I could just grab it and go. I thought a bran muffin may be the trick since it has nutrients to keep me full and I could easily (and quietly) eat it during class.

These may not be the prettiest, but they were still tasty

1 box Hodgson Mill Bran Muffin Mix
1/2 can (around 7 oz) canned organic pumpkin*
1/8 cup skim milk
1/4-1/2 shredded carrots
Cinnamon
Pumpkin Pie Spice

Heat oven to 400º. Line muffin tin with paper muffin cups. Mix muffin mix and pumpkin together. I found my mixture of milk was dry so I added a splash. Ultimately I added around 1/4. It was still thick and could have been thinned out a little more. I shredded a handful of baby carrots and added it to the mixture. Raisins or apples could also be used. I added a few shakes of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to add flavor. Spices could either be omitted or increased depending on the taste. Bake for 15 minutes. Stick knife in the middle to make sure the muffin is firm. Mine were not. I baked for an additional 10 minutes. These turned out pretty good. Although they may not be the most flavorful muffin (my personal favorite has always been chocolate chocolate chip) they are pretty good.


*I used organic out of preference other types of canned pumpkin would work.