Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread

/ Jodi

apricot nut bread

It’s not officially Christmas baking time until I make Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread.

apricot nut bread mini

And that is exactly what I did this past Sunday.

Unlike most of the things I bake, this recipe is for me.

Measuring the flour with my favorite antique tin measuring cup from Grandma,

snipping the apricots just like she did with kitchen shears,

mixing with old-time Christmas music playing like we did when I helped her as a child…

Remembering how she smelled, remembering how her hands looked and felt, remembering her voice, remembering her love.

Baking this bread every year at this time just takes me back – makes me smile – allows me to remember – fills me with love.

apricot nut bread slice

The smell of this bread baking is one of my very favorite smells in the entire universe.  (In fact, sometimes I go outside for a couple of minutes, so that I can come back in and be HIT by the smell!)

The taste of this bread…

not too sweet – a bit dry – densely filled with bursts of tart apricot chunks and crunchy walnuts….

For me – this bread is love – it is memories of childhood – memories of a grandma’s heart.

Do you have a recipe that does this to you?

I wonder if Grandma is why I often express my love for people by baking?

Thanks for the memories, Grandma.  Thanks for the love.  You are my Stella Star!

You can  find the recipe for my all-time favorite thing to bake here – Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread where I shared it last year.

Hope you are enjoying the season.  I’m going to go have a slice and a cuppa!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

40 thoughts on “Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread”

  8. I’m a fruitcake fan myself. You’ve made this so appealing. But tell me: along with your ever-present tripod, do you also have special lighting hanging around for your photos? The lighting on that top photo is really good.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Awh Thanks Kirk! I actually shot this outside. Natural lighting is always the best. I balance it on the deck railing – very carefully – because I love the natural background colors of the woods. I’m not sure if you recall the time I made a beautiful peach cake that we never got to eat, because it fell off the railing into the mulch below. We had cantaloupe for dessert instead that evening. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  9. What a dear tribute to your gramma Jodi. My gramma made a “knick your socks off” cheesecake. We have her handwritten recipe in our family memory book. I read your other post about Stella Star. Thanks for sharing your memories. Love all around today!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. I would bet that your Grandmother’s love and example has a lot to do with why you enjoy baking for your friends and family! And what a nice tradition to follow. I don’t have a single recipe that reminds me of my grandmother, but I do have wonderful memories of being in her little kitchen, helping her make cookies, cupcakes and brownies.

    Like

    Reply

  17. Jodi – your grandmother sounded just like mine! I just read your post about her from last year – she sounded wonderful! I miss my grandmother so much – she passed away last November at 99 1/2 years old – she also quit school in 8th grade and helped raise her siblings…never got her driver’s license…and was the wisest person I ever knew… 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  18. hi Jodi, this post and Stellar Star post were deeply moving. Very much so. Grandmothers can be the best legacy for us and our children’s children. As we remember – we do. And pass down the love. Baking, canning, etc. was a huge part of their lives, that and Blackberry picking! YUM 🙂 I hope the next generation, can and will appreciate some of our grandmothers’ legacies. WONDERFUL POST!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. Pingback: Christmas Apricot Kolache Cookies | life in between

  20. Pingback: Creative Inspiration in Food, Watercolor, Photography, Writing and Life in Between.

  21. Pingback: Creative Inspiration in Food, Watercolor, Photography, Writing and Life in Between.

I love hearing from you - hope you'll drop me a line