Apple, apricot, and almond bread

It’s quite a few degrees cooler outside, and you know what that means – baking season! The smell of cloves, cinnamon sugar, and apples gets my mouth watering every time.

This recipe has the three A’s – apples, dried apricots, and almonds (in this case, almond flour or almond meal). Perfect with tea or with your breakfast.

The holidays, for me, are all about being indulgent and craving the comfort foods we love without over indulging. Believe me, there is always another tasty holiday cookie to grab instead.

Tip: This recipe has no dairy, and barely uses one egg, and not too much sugar – a good trick in baked goods using fruit is to use sweeter fruit instead of  adding more sugar – these sweet honey crisp apples, for example. You could also use raisins or dried cherries instead of the dried apricots, if you prefer.

Apple, apricot, and almond bread

You’ll need:

• 1 cup wholewheat flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• ⅓ cup raw sugar
• 2 t baking powder
• ⅓ cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
• 2 red apples, peeled and chopped (I used honey crisps)
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line a loaf pan with lightly greased parchment paper.

2. Prepare the filling first – chop and peel the apples, cutting them into fairly small chunks. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and apples and toss to combine.

3. Sift together the flours, raw sugar, baking powder, and chopped dried apricots in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and slowly add in the almond milk while mixing with a spatula. You should get a soft, wet dough.

4. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Roll out the dough – it will be pretty pliable, so you can even use your hands, and place the apple filling in the middle, then roll to cover. You may have some apples sticking out of the dough on top, but that is perfectly fine.

5. Place by our bread into the loaf pan, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 50 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.