Bread in a Jar

Bread in a Jar: Submitted by: Vickie | Date Added: 20 Apr 2015 Ingredients:

2/3 c Crisco
2 - 2/3 c sugar
4 eggs
2 c shredded apples
2/3 c water
3 1/3 c flour
2 t soda
2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 1/2 t salt
2/3 c chopped pecans

8 Wide-mouth half pint Mason jars

(See substitutions below for variations to make applesauce cake, carrot cake, banana bread, pumpkin bread & zucchini bread!)

Cooking Instructions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 8 wide mouth pint mason jars with Crisco.

Cream shortening & sugar. Beat in eggs, apples (If using substitutes below, omit apples and add your substitutions!) & water. Sift flour, baking soda, spices & salt together; add apples & mix well. Stir in pecans.

Pour into mason jars (fill only half of the jar). Place jars on cookie sheet and bake 45 minutes. When done, remove 1 jar from the oven at a time. Wipe edge clean with dry cloth. If bread has risen above rim, use a piece of dental floss to trim cake flat & wipe clean. Seal jar tightly. Continue sealing remainder of the jars, one by one. The heat will vaccuum the jars.

Tighten jars again when cooled.

Flavor Variations:

For applesauce cake: substitute apples for 1 3/4 c applesauce & 1/2 c raisins (try soaking raisins in a little bit of rum!)

For carrot cake: substitute apples for 2 c. shredded carrots (1/2 c raisins soaked in a little bit of rum is my favorite, but optional!)

For banana bread: substitute apples for 2 c mashed bananas

For pineapple bread: substitute apples for 1 3/4 c applesauce & 1/2 c crushed pineapple

For pumpkin bread: substitute apples for 2 c pureed pumpkin ( not pie pumpkin), 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 t ginger, 1/4 t nutmeg, 1/4 t cloves & 1 c pecans or walnuts (instead of 2/3 c nuts)

For zucchini bread: substitute apples for 2 c shredded zucchini & 3/4 c nuts (instead of 2/3 c).

For any of the substitutions, add all of the remaining ingredients & follow cooking instructions!

(Cook's note: These make great Christmas gifts and/or fund-raising items. My mother and I have been making these as Christmas gifts for more years than I can remember! I don't bake often, so when it's time to make my Bread-in-a-Jar, it's time for me to buy fresh baking powder and baking soda, otherwise your cakes won't rise as much as they should! When using raisins, don't hesitate to plump them up by soaking them an hour (or longer!) in RUM! After soaking the raisins, toss them in a little flour so that they mix and don't stick together or settle into one spot!)