"Almost" Sugar-Free Applesauce and Walnut Bread with Cardamom

About a month ago, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It's partially hereditary, but I also hadn't really been watching how much sugar I was eating!! I had fallen into a pattern of eating cookies or ice cream after dinner. At the beginning of 2019, I turned over a new "leaf." I decided I was going to stop eating chocolate, cake, cookies and ice cream! I also realized I needed to stop baking so much with butter and white sugar - this recipe has neither of those two ingredients! I made this bread this morning and didn't have a chance to "sample" it until late this afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised by how yummy it was!!!! I used an entire teaspoon of my favorite spice right now - cardamom!!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches) with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, put the flour, light brown sugar, canola oil, sour cream, applesauce and egg. Mix well with a whisk or large spoon until just combined. Add the salt, cardamom, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla extract. Combine until almost smooth and "fold" in the walnuts. Pour into pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.  Let cool about 15 minutes and then remove to wire rack to continue to cool. Store covered at room temperature.

No Yeast Cardamom Bread

I am always on the "lookout," for new quick bread recipes.  I recently picked up a bottle of cardamom at the Kroger even though I had NEVER used cardamom in my life!! Being the "bread," gal that I am,  I knew I wanted to make cardamom bread, but many of the recipes out there used yeast. I do keep yeast in my pantry (but I use that for my bread machine). This bread has no yeast, but does include buttermilk. I always have plenty of regular milk, because Dominic goes through a couple of gallons a week, but I typically do not have buttermilk in the fridge. You can easily whip up your own in a matter of minutes. Do you dye eggs around Easter? then you probably have white vinegar somewhere in your pantry. To make what you need for this bread, pour a cup of milk into a small bowl and then add a tablespoon of white vinegar. Set the timer for five minutes. Yep, that's it. When I made this bread this morning, I got the homemade buttermilk going and then mixed up the rest of the ingredients. I made a loaf of this bread earlier in the week (with no icing or walnuts) and there was just one piece left this morning. I now have made this bread both plain and with vanilla icing and chopped walnuts on top (which is the "traditional," way of making it). Both ways were super duper scrumptious!

Ingredients

2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 1/2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 cup buttermilk
  (if you don't have any, put one cup milk and
  one tablespoon of white vinegar in a bowl
  and wait five minutes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a  9 x 5 x 3 inch  loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In large bowl, put the eggs and white sugar and mix well. Add the canola oil and mix well again. Next, put the flour, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Combine and then add the buttermilk. Mix until smooth and pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool on a baking rack and then remove from the pan. Top with vanilla icing and walnuts, if desired. Keeps for up to three days covered at room temperature.