By Lindsey Proctor, Contributing Writer
These whole wheat mini apple loaves are flecked with shredded apple and oats, and spiced with apple spice seasoning for a flavorful and moist bread. They make a great gift! You can also make them in muffin form as part of a lovely Christmas morning or tea tradition.
I hope that you are enjoying this magical season with all the ones you love, whether in the form of listening to Christmas music, holiday baking, gift shopping and wrapping, or quiet reflection on the gift of the birth of Jesus.
This post continues our 12 days of Christmas series sharing sweets and giveaways! Other posts in the series include: Almond Roca, 18 Unique Christmas Gifts, Win Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons, Chile Spiked Dark Chocolate Bark with Mango, Easy Peasy Caramel Sauce, Rosehip and Hibiscus Tea Gift Set, Win a Vitamix Blender. All of which make wonderful gifts!
Speaking of holiday baking – and gifts – these Apple Oatmeal mini loaves would be great for your neighbors and co-workers too! They’re soaked for optimal nutrient absorption and digestibility, naturally sweetened, easy to make, and oh-so-delicious. White wheat flour, oat flour, and whole oats are combined with milk and whey, lemon juice, buttermilk, or kefir and left overnight to soak. (So remember to plan ahead!) In the morning, simply mix in the rest of the ingredients and bake in a mini loaf pan (these clay mini loaf pans look great at our affiliate Amazon) muffin tin, or a regular sized loaf pan, depending on your preference. Let them cool, wrap them up pretty, and share the yumminess!
Simple Packaging for Baked Goods for Gifts
And, if you’re looking for a lovely, easy way to wrap your baked goods, here’s a simple idea: Tear off two equal-sized pieces of waxed paper, large enough to wrap whatever it is you’re wrapping. Cut a piece of tissue paper slightly smaller than the waxed paper, then layer it together with the waxed paper on the bottom and top, and the tissue paper in the middle. For mine, I used a sheet of plain red and green tissue paper, and used my star-shaped punch to make stars from white tissue paper. I laid the plain paper on top of the waxed paper, sprinkled the stars over it on one side, and then carefully placed the other piece of waxed paper on top. Cover the “paper sandwich” with a tea towel and iron with a low-temp iron to seal the edges of the waxed paper together. Voilà!
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home – Hearty Oat Loaf
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 medium apple, shredded
- ⅓ cup sucanat, rapadura, or coconut sugar
- 3 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 Tablespoon whey, buttermilk, kefir, or lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
- ¾ teaspoon apple pie spice
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, whey/buttermilk/kefir/lemon juice, and milk. Cover and set aside to soak 12-24 hours.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350*F. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine well. Spoon into mini loaf pan, muffin tin, or loaf pan. If desired, top with a mixture of organic brown sugar, apple pie spice, and dried apple pieces.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Yield: 4 mini loaves or 1 regular-sized loaf
If you are wrapping them up to give away, make sure loaves are completely cool before wrapping.
Latest posts by Lindsey Proctor (see all)
- Coconut Orange Ginger Beef Stir-fry - July 18, 2014
- Why We Drink Raw Goat’s Milk - January 27, 2014
- Apple Oatmeal Mini Loaves (Soaked whole grain and naturally sweetened!) - December 7, 2013
These 12 days of Christmas posts are killing me! I really wish I had one of these apple loaves ready to eat right now, but alas, I shall have to wait until I have a friend over for brunch next week.
Hi Lindsey, I would love to make your apple and oatmeal loaf. Could the wheat flour be swapped for spelt (have a gluten intolerant kid who tolerates spelt), and what exactly is in apple pie spice i haven’t heard of it so might have to make up my own.
Hi Karlene!
I haven’t tried it with spelt flour, but I don’t see why it *wouldn’t* work – I’ve certainly swapped spelt for wheat in other recipes (and vice versa) and they’ve turned out okay.
Apple Pie Spice is just a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, or if you have Pumpkin Pie Spice you could use that too – it has ginger as well as those other three. 🙂
Thank you Lindsey will try it out with spelt flour. Will make some apple pie spice up as well, we don’t tend to make pumpkin pie in NZ so don’t have that spice either. Maybe i should give one a go. 🙂
Hi Lindsey!
This recipe looks fabulous…can’t wait to try it!!
I would like to bring your attention, though, to the issue of coconut sugar which has become so popular lately. Please see this article that questions the sustainability of producing coconut sugar, especially the potential to create a short supply of our beloved coconut oil!
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/coconut_palm_sugar.htm
If you agree, then maybe you could leave out that option in your future recipes — there are always sucanat and rapadura, as well as date sugar!
In any case, please DO keep sharing your wonderful recipes! 🙂
Hey Shelah,
I don’t think that article is accurate and it has confused a lot of people (I’ve read some thoughtful replies of the article that I need to dig up again to share that explains the other side of the story). Truthfully, I started using coconut sugar before it was popular, and farmers were having to tear out coconut sugar trees and planting cane sugar crops instead, so I have been really thankful that farmers have been able to keep their traditional crops and even expand them instead of simply cane sugar crops. (That isn’t to say there is not complicated issues regarding importing foods from other countries, but this includes cane sugar products).