Cranberries are a staple Thanksgiving food; nearly 80 million pounds of the tart fruit are consumed on this day alone! But having the same cranberry dish year after year can get tiring. I don't know about you, but I'm not the biggest fan of a cylinder of sour jelly jiggling around on a plate.
A few years ago, my grandma made the switch from cranberry sauce to this delicious cranberry bread, made sweet and a little crunchy with orange zest and walnuts, and I decided that this year it was time for me to try my hand at this family favorite.
Cranberry Walnut Bread
- Prep Time:10 mins
- Cook Time:55 mins
- Total Time:1 hr 5 mins
- Servings:1
- Easy
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries chopped
Ingredients
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
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Step 2
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
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Step 3
Whisk until well combined.
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Step 4
In a smaller bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter, orange juice and zest, and almond extract.
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Step 5
Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until batter is consistent.
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Step 6
Take a dry pan and toast walnuts over low heat. This will bring out their flavor and also keep them crisp when they are baked into the bread.
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Step 7
Add toasted walnuts and chopped cranberries to batter and stir until fully combined.
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Step 8
Pour batter into loaf pan and place in preheated oven.
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Step 9
Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the top of the bread is golden brown.
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Step 10
Allow bread to cool before slicing and serving.
My favorite way to eat this bread is warmed up with a pat of butter spread over the slice, but if someone decides that the Thanksgiving table just isn't complete without the classic cranberry sauce, a little spoonful would complement this baked treat rather nicely.