In our home, like so many others, the holiday season is filled with baking! Baking all of the goodies that we don’t treat ourselves to the rest of the year. One of those tasty treats for us is an Orange Cranberry Bread.
Every year I buy so many food magazines, inject silly emoji, filled with all the delicious looking recipes. Needless to say that I do not get to try them always. I usually fall back on the tried and true recipes that have been in my family for years.
Who doesn’t love tradition and good memories? I remember growing up during the holidays, my mom and I would cook different kinds of sweets every week. From a Pecan Nut Log to Pecan Sandies to Peanut Butter Balls to Ladyfingers. And so much more!!
Today I am sharing one of my mom’s favorites. She loves anything with cranberries. Add oranges to the mix and you have a perfect Christmas bread. This is a great recipe to double and make as mini loaves to give as gifts to neighbors or friends. Or to make for Christmas morning…ohhh, I already cannot wait to eat this sweet bread!
So Yummy!!!
Orange Cranberry Bread:
1/3 cup of butter, melted
1 cup of sugar
3 Tbs orange juice
2 eggs
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs orange zest
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries; optional- cran raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional
1/4 white chocolate chips, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare one loaf pan with nonstick spray and parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and orange juice. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Alternately add the dry ingredients and milk to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold in the orange zest, cranberries and pecans, and chips. Pour into prepared pan and bake 60-70 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan.
Now for the glaze de resistance!!
- 1/8 cup of warm orange juice
- 1/2 cup confectioner (powdered) sugar
Whisk together til smooth and drizzle over cool bread. Enjoy!!!
This is a favorite in our house and oh so Christmasy! As with most recipes, you can alter this to your diet. If you are celiac you can definitely try a different flour or if you are needing to cut back on the sugar, you can use Stevia. Plus, you can use lemons and blueberries if you are not a cranberry fan.
One of the things that we hope to do through Beauty Among Us is to encourage you to get creative. I do hope that you will try this recipe and let us know how you like it.
