A few weeks ago I was excited because I had some extra fresh cranberries to play around with. I’ve been working on some bread recipes and I wanted to see about making a special treat for my boys on Thanksgiving morning.
I happily mixed everything together. It was the last thing to go into the oven on the day before Thanksgiving. My youngest (the chef in the family) and I had carefully planned out the week of cooking. But this little something extra, a quick bread made with cranberries, wasn’t on the list and I thought it would be a nice surprise.
But the aroma was too much…..
The smell of a freshly baked treat hung heavy in the air.
As soon as I turned the bread pan over, there was a voice over my shoulder asking, “Can I have just a little piece?”
Of course, I said, “NO” and left it to cool, but then another voice asked, “please, we’ve been cooking all day.”
What could I say? What could I do?
5 minutes is all it took before the 3 almost grown men and one grown-up dad devoured the entire loaf.
I sighed as I went to clean the loaf pan. It’s not as bad as it could be, I suppose…
At least it was a hit and they all loved it. I had to make another loaf to shoot the picture above. Well, truth be told, 2 more loaves. This one is a keeper. Make it today but don’t be surprised if there is none tomorrow. I’ve given you fair warning.
Cranberry-Orange Bread Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (unbleached)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- zest of 2 oranges or 4 mandarins
- ¾ cups orange juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- ½ cup walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Squeeze some fresh juice. You can use store bought if you don’t have enough, but…..
be sure you have a few oranges for your zest.
Pulse cranberries, ginger, and sugar in a food processor.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, spices, and salt.
In a large bowl place juice, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium until combined (about 1 minute). Add butter and mix to combine.
Add zest
Then slowly add in dry ingredients. Stirring with a spatula until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Stir in nuts.
Grease 8×4 inch bread pan. (To make two loaves like I have here just double the recipe.)
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
Let cool before cutting (if you can).
What’s your favorite quick bread?
