In the Kitchen with Gram...Nut Bread!!

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world, something that, for whatever unknown psychological reason, gives me great comfort, is my Grandma's Nut Bread.

Once upon a time, she must've brought us some when I was sick, or convalescing from childbirth (I like to say that word from time to time..."convalescing". Couple that with with "poultice" and you're well on your way to a "Little House in the Prairie" episode.) or deep in the throws of child rearing.


Some sort of upheaval in my life in which I was given a loaf of Nut Bread and now I will forever associate that with comfort. A hug in the form of a delicious slice of sweet, buttered bread.


And now I'm smiling.


And now YOU will be smiling when I show you how stinkin' easy it is to create your very own "hug from Gram via a loaf of bread".


Here's how we start...this, and sour cream. Forgot the sour cream in the photo. One of these days, I promise, we'll get this whole "food blogging" thing down pat!

First in the bowl, sugars:

Next in line, eggs:

Cream those babies together, then add in some vanilla, and mix briefly. Gram says "I always add a little extra of things I like and a little less of things I don't like.", which means, there's usually a little extra vanilla. ;)

Now, find yourself a cute little munchkin to help you combine your dry ingredients.

And...AHA!! There's that sour cream! 

If I recall, the recipe originally called for sour milk, which Gram was out of one day while making Nut Bread, so she subbed sour cream and liked the results! (She does add a tablespoon of milk to the container at the end, to help get all the cream out and to add just a bit of moisture so the batter doesn't get too stiff.)

Begin adding your "wet" and "dry" ingredients..starting with the dry ingredients and ending with the dry ingredients.


Scrape the sides of the mixer as needed...

A big glop of sour cream...

And then the dry stuff:

Now, for that milk I told you about earlier...

Just that little bit helps to loosen up the dough (batter?) just enough.

And now...the nuts!! (This is another "case" in which Gram uses just a bit more than called for!) Add, and mix gently.

Grease your pans...Gram uses butter...

Divide your batter (dough?) equally among your loaf pans. We were able to get three "minis" out of the batter.

And into the oven they go!

When just out of the oven, run a knife around the sides of the bread to loosen from the pan, then remove immediately and cool on a rack.


I LOVE that this bread had a crisp crust with it's super soft, yummy inside! The "crust" softens after a bit, but we snarfed this baby down so fast, it never had a chance to get soft on us! 

Yum. *burp*

Gram's Nut Bread
Printable Recipe


1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c sour cream
1 T milk
1 tsp baking soda
3 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 c nuts (we use walnuts)


Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream together sugars and eggs, add vanilla and mix in. Combine soda, flour and salt (sift or whisk together) in separate bowl, starting with dry ingredients, alternately mix in dry ingredients and sour cream...starting with dry and ending with dry. Along with last addition of sour cream, add milk to batter (Gram adds it to the sour cream container first, to clean it out a bit, then adds it to the batter. Add in nuts, mix until just combined. Divide batter (dough?) equally among greased loaf pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes (usually closer to 60, but check it at 50!). When out of oven, immediately slide knife around bread edges to loosen from pan, then remove from pan to cooling rack. 


Enjoy with a smear of butter and a cup of coffee! And thank me later for the "comfort bread" hug! ;)