Orange Apricot Nut Bread

HISTORY OF THE RECIPE

My mother was trained as a dietitian -- just like me (or should I say, I was like her!) Throughout her very full life of 96 years, Mom realized that cooking connected people—and that’s exactly where she wanted to be. Starting in the WW2 years (not an easy time to be a newly minted foodservice dietitian) and for decades following, she worked in the test kitchens of major food companies and at food magazines, honing her recipe development skills. Even late in life, she never lost her enthusiasm for a good recipe. I have hundreds of her recipes cards and cookbooks. To pick just one is quite daunting, but here’s one for “Orange Nut Bread” from the General Foods Kitchens Cookbook (© 1959). She and some other dietitians (aka home economists) developed this recipe for the best-selling cookbook while working at the General Foods Kitchens. Later, she decided to add the apricots (always creating in the kitchen!)-- it’s been a favorite gift for family and friends at New Year’s for a very long time.

Prep Time: 20 min        Baking Time: 1 hour

WHAT YOU NEED:

2¼ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 cup dried apricots, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. grated orange rind

1 large egg, well beaten

½ cup orange juice

½ cup milk

3 Tbsp. oil (or melted butter)

MAKING IT:

Preheat oven to 350◦F.  Sift together in a large bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Blend walnuts, apricots and orange rind into flour mixture. 

Combine beaten egg, orange juice and milk; add to flour mixture along with oil.  Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened and nuts are well distributed. 

Turn batter into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.  Bake for 55-60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Let cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and continue cooling on rack.

Makes:  1 large loaf (each loaf yields about 18 slices) or 3 small loaves

TIPS:

To make small loaves, spoon batter into three 3 x 5-inch loaf pans (greased); bake for 40-45 minutes.

To freeze loaves, wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

Can be made with 1 cup of whole wheat flour, substituting for 1 cup of the flour.

Nutrition Information per serving (one 1/2-inch slice): 180 Calories; 7 g Total Fat; (0.5 g Sat Fat); 10 mg Chol; 110 mg Sodium; 27 g Total Carb; (1 g Fiber; 13 g Sugars); 3 g Protein