Apple Bread with Browned Butter Glaze and Classic Apple Crisp

With all the beautiful apples I got last week at the farmers market there has been a lot of apple cooking going on in my kitchen. I absolutely love the smell of apples cooking and the warm cinnamon smell that goes along with it, definitely a favorite fall scent!

Last night for dinner we had one of my favorite fall meals, Bratwurst with lots of caramelized onions and potatoes. I thought the perfect dessert to go along with our dinner was a classic apple crisp made with a selection of different apple varieties. Here's how I made it.

Apple Crisp

Peel, core and chop about 8 apples, more or less depending on the size of apples and how much you want to make. Put them into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. I chose a large casserole dish, you could also use a 9 by 13 baking pan.

I used a variety of apples, Honeycrisp, Crimson Crisp, Spokane Beauty, and my new favorite, Pink Pearl, it is a red fleshed variety and the color is amazing!

When your apples are prepped, mix in 3 tablespoons of flour, half a cup of sugar, and about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Dot the top of the apples with 3 tablespoons of butter cut into small cubes. Set aside while you make the crisp topping.

Mix - 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. 
Melt - 10 tablespoons of butter (1 stick and 2 tablespoons), Mix butter into dry ingredients, and stir until combined and all flour is incorporated into mix.

Crumble the topping over the apples, distributing evenly. Bake at 350 F. for about 40-45 minutes, until topping is golden brown, and apples have cooked through and are bubbly. Cool.

Serve while still slightly warm with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

This morning I made a delicious apple bread with the last of my apples, and topped it with a browned butter glaze, browned butter is a favorite of mine and was perfect in this glaze.

Apple Bread with Browned Butter Glaze

Preheat Oven to 350 F.

Mix together-
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Stir until all ingredients are combined but be careful not to over stir, it is best to do this by hand.

Then fold in to the batter 2 apples that have been peeled, cored, and finely chopped.

Pour batter into a greased standard loaf pan. Bake at 350 F. for 45 minutes to an hour, until bread is risen, golden brown, and a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Then cool.

After apple bread has cooled for about 45 minutes to an hour, it is time to add the glaze.

Browned Butter Glaze

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan and over medium high heat carefully stir while butter comes to a golden brown. This process happens rather quickly, the butter will usually begin to foam, keep stirring so it doesn't stick to the bottom, and really watch the color which is hard to see under the foam, remove the butter as soon as it looks golden so it doesn't burn. Again this happens very quickly so be ready to remove it right away. Make sure and stir any browned butter bits from the bottom of pan and set aside to cool for a minute or two.

In a bowl add 1 cup of powdered sugar, add all of the browned butter, add two tablespoons of warm water, stir together. Add more water if the glaze is too thick, one teaspoon at a time. I kept this glaze thicker than I normally do because I didn't want it to all run off, but it was still thick enough to pour over bread.

Let the glaze set up on bread for a few minutes, slice and enjoy.

This bread was wonderful, and the brown butter glaze went perfectly with the bread. This would be a wonderful after school snack or a perfect bread to serve with coffee or tea for breakfast.

This weekend I am hoping to visit the farmer's market again and stock up on more apples, I am definitely hoping to come across more of the Pink Pearl red fleshed apples. What is your favorite apple variety?

You may also be interested in stopping by my 2014 Harvest Hop and Sharing your Fall Themed Posts.