Like eating candy atop a delicious fall loaf—Praline-Apple Bread

Can you imagine a layer of praline candy that crowns a bread absolutely packed with the goodness of fresh apples? That was the happy outcome of a new find—a recipe for Praline-Apple Bread. I was prowling around the Internet to see what I might still turn up for some more fall apple fixin’s. This 2009 listing on www.myrecipes.com caught my eye. Saturday morning-type fare, it seemed to call to me. Wow, was it a wonderful addition to our weekend!

In following the recipe I made an interesting substitution. The secret to a moist bread was said to lie in the 8-ounce container of sour cream to be added to the mix. I had on hand only about 1/3 of the 1 cup of sour cream necessary. Hubby had some fat-free vanilla yogurt that he uses for his smoothies. His sacrifice of his yogurt (that I added on top of the existing sour cream to make a 1 cup measure) kept him from having to make an emergency dash to the grocery. I normally am not very gutsy when (off-the-cuff) subs are concerned and don’t like to take risks for fear of a bad outcome, but if moistness was the goal, then yogurt seemed that it might add that attribute.

I shouldn’t have worried. This turned out to be a terrific loaf with the smoothest texture and most amazing flavor imaginable. And the butter/brown sugar topping, stirred to a 1-minute boil and then poured over the bread once-removed from the pan, hardened into a glaze that was like biting into a creamy praline. (The recipe said this appeared two Septembers ago in Southern Living.)

We dined happily ever after.

Praline-Apple Bread

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided

1 (8-ounce) container fat-free sour cream

1 cup granulated sugar (or sugar substitute)

2 large eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 pound apples)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan for 6 to 8 minutes or until pecans are toasted and fragrant. Stir after 4 minutes. Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or until blended. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour-cream mixture. Beat until just blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9-inch-by-5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans. Lightly press pecans into top of batter. Bake loaf at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center emerges clean. (After 50 minutes of cooking shield top of bread with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.) When loaf is done and before removing it from its pan, place pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then remove bread from pan to wire rack. For glaze bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat; stir constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and spoon over top of bread. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. (To freeze, cool bread completely, wrap in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.) Makes 1 loaf.

This Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding--an excellent bribe, an excellent breakfast dish

OK, so I'll call it what it was: pure bribery. The day stretched out before me as so many pre-Christmas days do—IMPOSSIBLE. The time had arrived to address the cards plus wrap all the Christmas gifts that needed to go in the mail. Problem was, no one person could accomplish all that in a single day. Help was needed and needed quickly.

Unsuspecting Hubby just thought I was trying out a new breakfast recipe, as I often do on weekend mornings. True that, but I also had an ulterior motive. Feed him well; get Hubby in my owe pronto; then maybe he'd help me with one of the above mentioned tasks.

Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding, borrowed from an old issue of Family Circle magazine and tucked away in my winter recipes file, made the best breakfast dish on the planet. Slices of plump, healthy Rome Beauty apples tucked in between slices of cinnamon raisin bread and baked with a caramel sauce poured over was a beauty—and a motivator.

Hubby fell for the ruse. After a breakfast dish of steaming Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding just pulled from the oven, he probably would have jumped on the roof and danced while wearing a Santa hat if I'd asked him to do so. Filled to satisfaction from dining on the excellent dish (which also would make a perfect Christmas-morning breakfast dish or an item for Christmas company), he sat down at the dining table and cheerfully worked on the Christmas cards all day.

Because of his help, I may not be ahead of the game, but I'm currently not behind, which is more than I could have said of myself in previous Christmas months. Thanks, Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding.

Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding

3 Rome Beauty apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin

1 tablespoon flour

1 loaf (16 ounces) cinnamon-swirl bread

6 eggs (or 2 cups egg substitute)

1 3/4 cups milk (I use skim)

1/2 cup bottled sugar-free caramel sauce, plus more to drizzle

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

Coat a 2 1/2-quart shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl toss apple slices with flour. Cut loaf of bread in half diagonally (to form triangle-shaped slices). Layer half the bread and half the apple slices, overlapping, in bottom of prepared dish. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together eggs, milk, 1/2 cup caramel sauce, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt. Pour half over bread and apples in dish. Repeat layering; use all remaining bread and apples. Pour second half of egg mixture over layers. Cover dish with plastic wrap; press lightly. Refrigerate to soak 30 minutes to 1 hour. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap dish; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; cover with foil and bake 15 more minutes or until center measures 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Drizzle top with additional caramel sauce; let cool on rack 15 minutes. Serve warm with cool whip (we use sugar free), if desired.