Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread

/ Jodi

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For those of you that have been following my blog for a while, you may recall this recipe.

It is worth repeating – at least for me.

Let me share what I wrote in my post two years ago when I first shared this recipe that is one of my ALL-TIME favorites.

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December 15, 2014:

One of my favorite things to bake (and eat) for the holidays is my Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread.

For me, it is like spending a little time with Grandma – even though she’s been gone for 20 years now.  The smells that fill the house… using her recipe card – complete with stains from baking episodes past… using her old tin measuring cup, snipping apricots, chopping nuts…  To me, the holidays aren’t truly here until I make Grandma’s Apricot Nut Bread and spend a little time with her through this ritual.

When I was young, I spent Christmas vacations (and every other moment I could) with Grandma.  We spent a lot of our time together in the kitchen.  While we were cooking or baking, Grandma would tell me stories about her childhood.  It was sadly a pretty short one, because she had to become Mama to her baby brothers at only 9 years old when her mom died at a devastatingly early age.  We would talk about her early married life with outhouses, coal furnaces, and washboards.  And some of my favorite stories, especially when I was young, were the ones she would tell about me when I was a baby and how she danced in the hospital hallway with the doctor after I was born and how she fed me her homemade chicken soup on my first day home.

We laughed while we worked, and I never felt so loved.

One of the things Grandma made every year was Apricot Nut Bread.  Growing up, it really wasn’t my favorite.  I much preferred the lady locks or nut horns or nut roll – even the chocolate chip cookies.  This bread is not overly sweet.  It is not overly moist.  But as an adult, it has become my absolute favorite.  A slice with a swirl of creamy salted butter or a schmear of rich cream cheese and a cup of coffee might just be my favorite way to start the day.

This weekend, I once again made my annual batch of Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread.  I can  only hope for cherished times like this to share with my granddaughter some day.

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Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try.  May it bring you as much joy as it does me.

Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread

  • Servings: 2 medium or 1 large and 1 small loaf
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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2-3/4 c. flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix together 1 cup chopped apricots and 1 cup boiling water.  Let stand until the rest of the ingredients are ready.

In larger mixer bowl, beat two eggs and gradually add 1 cup of sugar.

In a third large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder salt and baking soda.

Add the first two mixtures to the dry ingredients – alternating as you incorporate.  Fold in chopped nuts.

Bake one large loaf at 375 degrees F for approximately 40 minutes, then 350 degrees F for 20 additional minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For smaller loaves, bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.

P.S. I typically quadruple the recipe, and I get 8 mini loaves and 1 large loaf.  We eat the large loaf (right away!) and I give away the mini loaves.

Cheers & Holiday Baking Hugs,
Jodi

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

  1. Brings back memories of my Grandma. She used to prepare such lovely dishes. Even if she did not have any ingredients, she you just made simple things our of wheat flour and Trickle for us to gobble up. I wish I had more time to spend with my Grandma and learn things from her. Time once gone, never returns again.

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  4. I remember this bread and I agree, it is worth repeating every Christmas! And I believe that you will be sharing the same memories with your granddaughter. By that time it may be “granddaughters.” LOL! I believe that Jodi!

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  11. My sister and I would spend a weekend with my grandma when we were young and go to a local fair with her. I remember as I got older how embarrassing it was when “Gram” would introduce us to everyone she knew as her granddaughters! Now I look back at this memory fondly. Thanks for helping me remember, Jodi! 💕😊 And your bread looks delish! ✨

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  13. Serious mouth watering going on here. I am writing this recipe down, Jodi! Oh wow! And yes I agree with you Grandma’s are so very special. She was quite the baker as well and I do have some of her recipes. Yummy!! ❤

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  14. This can only be out of this world delectable. Thanks for sharing. I would like to personally invite and hope you will be able to participate in our first new monthly exchange: T’IS THE SEASON: CAKES, COOKIES AND TREATS – December 2016 Share and Inspire Others! – https://cookandenjoyrecipes.wordpress.com/2016/12/01/share-and-inspire-others-december-2016-event/ .
    Hope to see there there as well. Entries due via email to cookandenjoy@shaw.ca by midnight, 10 December, Vancouver, BC time. 😉

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  15. What wonderful memories you have of your grandmother, and how nice that you honor her memory each year by making this bread! I think I know exactly what you mean, since I remember baking chocolate brownie cookies with my grandmother in her cozy little kitchen. And of course I make them every year for Christmas too, for the exact same reasons you make the bread! Terrific post, Jodi, thanks!

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

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