Apple butter bread

Apple butter bread

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

legg

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup apple butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar; add egg, and beat well. Combine the buttermilk and soda. Combine flour and spices; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in apple butter and pecans. Pour into a greased 9- x 5- x 3-inch loafpan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes; remove to wire rack, and cool completely. Yield: One 9-x-5x-3-inch loaf. Submitted by Liz Tole.

Apple-almond butter

1 cup whole almonds, with skins

1 cup sweetened apple butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Toast almonds in a single layer on a baking pan for 5 to 10 minutes, or until golden, turning once. Put into workbowl of a food processor fitted with metal blade and process continuously, scraping sides as needed, until almonds become a thick paste. (At first almonds become powdery, like almond meal; then if you keep processing, you will get almond butter, a thick paste). Add apple butter and continue to process, scraping sides as needed, until mixture is smooth. Refrigerate. Serves 20; 1 tablespoon per serving.

Note: This tastes great on whole wheat toast or English muffins. American Heart Association.

If you really want to get some apple butter the easy way this fall and not spend a day cooking it, buy some from the Rappahannock Lions Club. They made 50 bushels of apples into apple butter and will be selling it the next few weekends as a fundraiser for their club.