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Sweet Alabama Pecan Bread

Sweet Alabama pecan bread with a crackly brown sugar pecan topping and moist, buttery crumb. Baked in a loaf pan and finished with toasted pecans for a classic Southern-style slice.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Southern American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
Wet ingredients
  • 0.5 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Pecan topping
  • 1.25 cup pecans, toasted and chopped, divided
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar for topping

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 stand mixer

Method
 

Prep the pan and oven
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F, then grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
  2. Visually check that the loaf pan is fully lined and the oven is fully preheated before mixing.
Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon until evenly combined.
  2. Pause when there are no visible streaks of cinnamon or baking soda and the mixture looks uniform.
Cream the butter and sugar
  1. Beat the butter and packed brown sugar until fluffy.
  2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
Combine wet and dry
  1. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until combined.
  2. Stop mixing as soon as no dry flour remains so the crumb stays tender.
Fold in pecans and assemble
  1. Fold in 1 cup of the pecans, then pour the batter into the loaf pan.
  2. Top the loaf with the remaining pecans and the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for topping.
Bake and cool
  1. Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350F until a toothpick comes out clean.
  2. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before slicing, so the crumb sets and the pecan topping holds.

Notes

For the best crackly top, make sure the pan is properly greased and the pecans are fully toasted before chopping. Store wrapped at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerated up to 5 days; freeze sliced bread for up to 2 months. For a lighter swap, use low-fat butter and low-fat buttermilk while keeping the same bake time.