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Sweet Alabama Pecan Bread

Sweet Alabama pecan bread is a Southern-style loaf with a crackly brown sugar topping and a moist, buttery crumb studded with toasted pecans. It’s mixed with alternation of dry ingredients and buttermilk for tender texture, then baked until a toothpick test comes out clean.
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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
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

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
  2. Visually confirm the pan is coated, so the loaf will release cleanly after baking.
Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon until evenly combined.
  2. Stop whisking when the spices look uniformly speckled through the flour mixture.
Cream the butter and sugar
  1. Beat softened butter and packed brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time and mix in vanilla extract.
  2. Mix just until smooth and lighter in color, with no visible streaks of egg.
Combine wet and dry
  1. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, mixing just until combined to keep the batter tender.
  2. Stop stirring as soon as no dry flour pockets remain.
Add pecans and top
  1. Fold in 1 cup of the toasted pecans, then pour the batter into the loaf pan.
  2. Fold only until the pecans are evenly distributed, then level the surface lightly.
  3. Top with remaining pecans and sprinkle 2 tablespoons brown sugar over the loaf.
  4. Aim for an even layer so the topping crackles across the whole surface.
Bake and cool
  1. Bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
  2. Look for a deep golden-brown top and set center before testing.
  3. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before slicing to prevent the crumb from tearing.
  4. After 15 minutes, the loaf should feel firm enough to slice cleanly.

Notes

Pro tip: toast and chop the pecans for deeper flavor, and avoid overmixing once flour meets buttermilk so the crumb stays tender. Store the loaf wrapped at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days; freeze slices in an airtight container for up to 2 months. For a lighter option, swap half the butter for an equal amount of unsweetened Greek yogurt (texture will be slightly softer but still sliceable).