Cranberry Quick Bread
Quick breads are one of the easiest desserts to bake! This Cranberry Bread Recipe is full of flavor with a hint of orange, and makes the perfect gift too!
When I think of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I always think about the huge feasts that my Mom prepared and the house full of family and laughter that went along with it. And of course, she always made this Cranberry Bread to add to the Thanksgiving Dessert table…oh yes, we had a whole table for dessert!
One of my very favorite things to bake is quick bread! This recipe is super easy, goes together in a snap and makes four mini loaves, enough to share with the neighbors…if you don’t eat it all first!
This quick bread has a hint of orange and is full of flavor. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. This time I used fresh. Cranberries can be tough to find other times of the year, so I always stock up when they are available during the holidays and freeze them. That way we can enjoy this Cranberry Bread even during the Summer when we are longing for a taste of the holidays.
Giving this Cranberry Bread as a gift is also very popular with friends, neighbors, teachers, the mailmen, and the list goes on and on.
Quick breads are one of the easiest recipes to make. You may also like these quick bread recipes, they are perfect for the holidays, every day and of course gift giving –
Sweet Potato Bread | Blueberry Zucchini Bread
Banana Bread | Pumpkin Bread
Cranberry Bread
Quick and easy Cranberry Bread - full of flavor, has a hint of orange and makes perfect gifts.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cups Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup Orange Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Butter, softened
- 2 Tablespoons Hot Water
- 1/2 cups Nuts, chopped finely
- 1 1/2 cups Cranberries, chopped finely (fresh or frozen **see Note)
Instructions
- Sift and set aside: flour, sugar, salt, soda and baking powder.
- In large bowl, slightly beat egg, add juice and butter, mix.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix well.
- Chop cranberries and nuts in food processor.
- Add water, nuts and cranberries to the mixture with a spatula. As with all quick breads, don’t over mix, just combine ingredients.
- Spray small loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min for small and 60 min for large. Or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
If you find cranberries on sale, you can freeze them whole then use them for the bread later. When you are ready to use them, just chop them while frozen, it's better to have a little moisture from the frozen berries. It's kind of loud, but works just fine.
Can you bake mini loaves ahead and freeze them for gift giving later?
Hi Jackie, yes you can freeze the cranberry bread.
Happy Baking!
-Liz
This is the first recipe that I have seen that uses the food processor to chop the cranberries. For my mom’s recipe, we used to grind them in the manual grinder that we would attach to the tables edge:) Today we use the food processor. I do think it is the secret to the moistest cranberry bread! I am going to give this a try.
Thanks Tracey! I do like chopping the cranberries. I agree that it makes the bread moist.
Happy Baking!
-Liz
Looks delicious! Now craving for cranberries!
This bread was good, but I had problems mixing oftened butter with the liquid (nd my butter was very soft); it was lumpy so I had to fiddle around with it to get everything blended. Next time I will either melt the butter or use oil instead. The flavor was excellent; the orange really comes through.
Hi Marlene, sorry you had trouble. The nice thing about quick breads is that the ingredients don’t have to be perfectly smooth.
Glad you liked the bread!
-Liz
What is the hot water for? Not mentioned in the instructions.
Hi Laurie, the hot water is added under #5, with the cranberries and nuts.
Happy Baking!
~Liz
Fresh cranberries or frozen for that matter are not always easy to ind here in New Zealand could you use dried cranberries and rehydrate them some before using them? Sounds a totally yummy recipe
Hi Cheryl, yes you could certainly try that. I have not made the bread that way, but you can certainly give it a try.
Happy Baking!
~Liz
I stock up on fresh cranberries, too! I can’t wait to try this bread. Thanks for sharing.
What kind of nuts did you use?
Hi Cheryl, whatever you like is fine, but I typically use walnuts or pecans in this bread.
Happy Baking!
sounds yummy!
Made this for Thanksgiving and it is a new keeper for me! Super easy to make and tastes great. Made a 9″ loaf. I am thinking I will also make smaller loaves for Christmas gifts. Thank you sharing this recipe.