Home Canning (Sweetbreads) Recipe

Quickly, you can home can most any sweetbread, cake, or muffin, etc., recipe you have. Just follow Bonnie’s instructions for canning her sweetbread and this will apply to most any recipe you have. I hope you enjoy it, but I’m bettin’ you will! Get your cook stove fired off cause I’m turning it over to Miz Bonnie, and she will walk off an leave ya! I promise you, “Ain’t no grass grows under this woman’s feet!” Yep! This old Georgia Peach can stay busy all day and half the night and still not accomplish what I need to do. I will attach my Apple Bread recipe to this letter. Hope you try it some day; it's pretty good. I LOVE that you canned cake in a small-mouthed jar! (As you can see Bonnie has no qualms over pointing out one of ole Dub’s shortcomings! I still luv ya though, Bonnie! Just keep it at a minimum, hear?) Though I no longer follow the doctrine, I was raised in a Mormon home and I think they are the past master of food storage and "preparedness" for emergencies. Me and ol' Graybeard (Steve) try to be prepared for any and all emergencies including food stuffs. My brother is the same way; just runs in the family I guess.

Bonnie’s Apple Sweetbread:

APPLE BREAD (Oven Baked)

• 1 1/2 cups oil 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 eggs Mix above together well; then add:
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1 can apple pie filling, with larger pieces chopped small.

Thoroughly stir nuts and pie filling into mixture. Pour batter into 2 (or 3) greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Hints: Good served warm, topped with vanilla ice cream. Freezes well for up to 3 months. Add 1/2 cup minced candied cherries. Add one cup chopped dates (toss in flour prior to adding to batter). Serve as a snack with a wedge of cheese and fresh apple slices. Wonderful served with hot vanilla/raisin sauce! This is a great one-bowl, quick, easy clean-up dessert. ENJOY! When I double the recipe, I use 3 Cans of pie filling. It is a little more moist and yummy! When using my apple bread recipe for canning in jars, the same, basic rules apply.........grease jar but don't flour, fill jars only half full, bake 25 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned, etc..

Canned Version:

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Generously grease but do not flour one dozen straight up pint jars that have been washed in warn soapy water, rinsed good, and dried.
3. Use any sweet bread or fruit bread recipe that you like. I have tried many, and never had one to fail. If you choose to start without being so adventurous, buy a Pillsbury Date Nut bread mix and use it. One of their mixes will do about 6 jars. I am enclosing my Apple Bread recipe. It is quite versatile, and will accept changes to suit your personal taste.
4. When bread of your choice is mixed, spoon the batter into the prepared jars, but fill them ONLY half full or just SLIGHTLY over. Make sure any drips on the rims are wiped clean, as this will affect the sealing later if they are not clean. I sit a dozen jars at a time on a baking sheet, and that should leave a little space between each one.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The bread should be pleasantly light brown, as you can see it through the glass jars.
6. While bread is baking, bring lids to a SIMMER, (BOILING lids can damage the sealant) and turn them off. Leave them in the pot and hot water until the bread is done, so that they are hot. As you take the jars out of the oven to put a lid on, you do not have to dry the lids. Just shake off the excess water and quickly screw them on the jar. I do one jar at a time, so they come out of the oven hot. You will know they are sealing by the little "plink" sound the lid makes as it seals. If you do not hear all of them seal, push in the middle of the lid when they are THOROUGHLY cool. If there is a lot of "give" in the lid, it did not seal. IF they are sealed, it should be firm to the little pressure.

Note: When baking bread in jars and doing a dozen at a time like we do, the outside jars brown a little quicker. We take the outside ones out first, two at the time, and this gives the next ones a chance to brown a little better. Only doing six at the time with more space between, they will all cook and brown a little more uniformly. If our oven rack bars were not so far apart, I would sit them directly on the rack. (I have considered buying a piece of hardware cloth to fit my oven rack so I could sit the jars directly on it.) Note: If a jar SHOULD cook slightly over the top, Steve just runs a knife quickly across the top of the jar, re-wipes the rim quickly, and then puts the lid on to seal it. We’ve never had a problem doing this, and they seal just fine. We have actually eaten canned breads that were 3 and 4 years old! Wonderful for quick gifts, and pretty when the rim is removed, a colorful circle of cloth put over the jar, and the rim screwed back on. Note: Apple Bread recipe above, when doubled, does 18 pints of bread. That is with two cups of chopped nuts and/or dates added. Enjoy! P. S. I like to take a jar out, slice it into rounds about ½ inch wide, spread with cream cheese, and nuke it for only about 5 to 10 seconds. YUMMY! *Is Bonnie “on her game” in regards to this? You betcha’ she is! Thanks Bonnie, good job!! Dub and Deb