Yvonne's Done-to-Death Apple Bread

On a message board I frequent, the ladies have talked for years about this apple bread. I copied the recipe and had it sitting in my "To Try" file for a loooooong time. Silly me. This is one that I should have made immediately...especially considering I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

It is moist, sweet (without being too sweet), nutty, and crunchy on top. Very tasty. Very very tasty!

As for its name, there is a story behind it. The recipe comes from Yvonne who claims that every time she made this apple bread, she was inundated with requests for the recipe.

There are some people who don't share their unique, raved about recipes. They choose to keep it "in the family" so they are the only ones bringing it to events. Others won't share because they're afraid that someone will substitute ingredients, change it "just a tad", use a different technique, and then tell everyone the origins. Sometimes these new creations are changed so much they don't have the same taste, texture, or appeal as the original recipe.

Perhaps Yvonne should have kept the recipe to herself. You see, after giving it out to others, the apple bread showed up EVERYWHERE. Everyone was making it and in her circle of friends it was so popular that it wasn't quite as special as it once was. Yvonne's apple bread had been "done to death."

So, here for your next tasty treat, is the infamous "Done to Death" Apple Bread.

Yvonne's Done-to-Death Apple Bread

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease bread pans well.

Mix together:
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 C sugar
1 C vegetable oil
1 TB vanilla

Add and mix well:
3 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Add and mix well:
4 C chopped, pared, cored apples (about 3-4)*
1 Cchopped pecans

The mixture will be very goopy.

Spoon into pans (full sized or mini loaf pans-- or muffin pans)**

Mix topping together and sprinkle over batter:
2 TB sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Place in oven, and cook until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Baking times:
Full sized loaf pans: 70 minutes
Mini loaf pans: 50 minutes
Muffin pans: 30 minutes

Cool on wire racks. Run a thin knife around the edges to loosen the bread. Remove bread from the pans, and cool thoroughly on the wire racks.

For storage I prefer to wrap with aluminum foil. The bread has a crisp top, which gets soggy when stored in an air-tight container. They still taste great, but I miss the crunchiness of the top!

I've successfully frozen these in heavy duty foil.

*Granny Smiths are my baking apple of choice. They're tart and hold up well in baking.
**This recipe will make 2 full sized loaf pans- or 8 mini loaves- or 48 muffins.

Enjoy!!