Apricot Bread (Who Would Have Guessed?)

About author / Sarah Christine Bolton

Coffee addict; professional food writer; food fusion. Her slow cooker recipes go above and beyond your normal crockpot fare.

Recently, I was in a small grocery store, picking up a few items, when suddenly a craving hit me. All I wanted was dried fruit, dried fruit of any kind. I would have accepted pretty much anything at that point.

I patiently walked up and down every aisle…twice. There wasn’t a piece of dried fruit to be found. I left in frustration.

The next day, I finally found $1 boxes of apricots at Walgreens while picking up makeup and deodorant. I didn’t care that it was fruit at Walgreens. I didn’t care that I should probably only ever purchase personal care items and allergy medication at Walgreens. I wanted dried fruit, and I was going to get some.

I finished the entire box by the time I got home. Now, I’m trying to use up all of my face lotion so I have a reason to return to Walgreens to buy more dried fruit.

When I’m not searching for or eating dried fruit, I love to eat bananas, but they have to be just right: still firm, no dark spots. When they start to get mushy, it’s time to use them in either a smoothie or banana bread. For a while, I was on a huge banana nut bread kick. I made it once a week in my little bread maker at my boyfriend’s house. What I didn’t eat hot out of the bread maker I left wrapped in foil for him and his roommate. I later found out (from his roommate) that my boyfriend ate the banana bread just so I wouldn’t feel bad. He doesn’t really like anything sweet.

These days, I don’t make banana bread very often, mostly because I don’t have time. So, when I found out that you can make bread in the crockpot, I was all ears (or all eyes, since I was reading online).

Although I’ve never had a craving for dried spinach or red peppers, veggies can be used in breads as well. My mom used to make zucchini bread for us. I think she thought it was a sneaky way to get us some veggies. Once, we were staying with her brother, who absolutely detested zucchini. My mom snuck some into the bread she was making, and we all giggled when he enthusiastically ate several slices. When we couldn’t hold the secret back any longer, we blurted out that he had just consumed lots of his hated vegetable. “I knew you guys were using zucchini,” he retorted. “I saw it cut up in the bowl.” We were disappointed that he knew our secret all along, but at least he had overcome one of his dislikes.

When I found a recipe for crockpot apricot bread, I didn’t even mess around with any of the under-stocked grocery stores. I went straight to Walgreens, and bought two of those $1 boxes of dried apricots. I needed one for the road.

Serves/Makes: 6

• 3/4 cup dried apricots
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts