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
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Whisk until well combined.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter, orange juice and zest, and almond extract.
Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until batter is consistent.
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.
Add toasted walnuts and chopped cranberries to batter and stir until fully combined.
Pour batter into loaf pan and place in preheated oven.
Bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the top of the bread is golden brown.
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.