Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

• To bake one regular-sized loaf of this cranberry nut bread or about three mini-loaves (each one makes the perfect homemade gift because it yields just enough cranberry nut bread for one or two people), you will need:
• 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
• ¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• Zest from 1 orange
• ¾ cup orange juice (Juice the orange from which you got the zest, then add orange juice until you have ¾ cup.)
• 1 beaten egg

Directions

1. Chop the cranberries and nuts into coarse pieces – not too small. A few second in the food processor will do it!
2. Wash the orange and zest the entire thing. Juice the orange and add orange juice to make ¾ cup. Set cranberries, nuts, orange juice and zest aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Liberally grease and lightly flour your loaf pan(s).
4. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Using two table knives or a pastry blender, cut the shortening into the dry mixture until evenly distributed throughout the dry mixture.
5. Stir the orange juice, egg and orange peel into the dry mixture next. If you find that it is still too dry, add a splash more of orange juice, but no more. The batter for this cranberry nut bread is supposed to be thick. Do not over mix the batter; stir it just until the dry mixture is moistened. Fold in the cranberries and nuts.
6. Spoon the cranberry nut bread batter into your loaf pan(s). If baking one regular-sized loaf, bake for about 60 to 65 minutes. The mini-loaves will take 30 to 35 minutes. Check the doneness of either size loaf by inserting a wooden toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cranberry nut bread is done. If it has a little batter still on it, bake a few minutes more. When it&39;s ready, you&39;ll feel a little resistance as you insert the toothpick into the cranberry nut bread.
7. When your cranberry nut bread is finished, remove it from the oven. Conventional wisdom says to allow your bread to cool 15 minutes before removing it from the pan, but I always have better luck removing it cleanly from the pan if I turn it out onto a cooling rack right away.
8. This cranberry nut bread is fabulous right out of the oven, but it&39;s also a great make-ahead recipe. Simply wrap the loaves in plastic wrap and foil and freeze them until you want to enjoy it yourself or share it with someone special as a tasty homemade gift. When you&39;re ready, tie a ribbon around each loaf, add a festive tag, and you've created a pretty and delicious homemade gift.