by Sandra Merville Hart

I go through seasonal cycles in cooking. This fall, I’ve been playing with a recipe for cranberry orange bread, two flavors that complement each other well.  

Ingredients

2 cups fresh cranberries

2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

1 large orange

¼ cup water

2 cups sifted bread flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup (4 tablespoons) butter

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon orange extract

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a bread baking pan with cooking spray.

Sift the flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir. Set aside.

With a vegetable peeler, peel strips of the orange rind, using about half of the orange.

Rinse cranberries and put them in a small saucepan. Add the orange peel, ¼ cup water, and 1 tablespoon of sugar to berries and stir. Cooking on medium low and stirring occasionally, heat the cranberry mixture about 8 minutes to soften the fruit and blend the flavors together.

Remove from heat. Drain the fruit mixture over a bowl or the pan. I find it easiest to drain it using a sifter. Remove all the orange peel strips and discard.

As the mixture cools, slice the orange in half. Squeeze the juice from ½ of the orange over the cranberries as they cool in the sifter. Allow the fruit to cool at least 10 minutes.

In a separate mixing bowl, thoroughly blend 2/3 cup sugar with the butter until all the sugar is incorporated into the butter. Pastry blenders work well for this. Beat 2 eggs and stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in the orange extract to further enhance the orange flavor.

Gently fold in the cooked cranberries to the batter. There will be juice left over in the saucepan. Measure ¼ cup of this cranberry juice and add to the batter. Stir in 1 tablespoon of milk.  

Stir dry ingredients into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. It usually bakes in my oven for about 53 minutes.

Many people prefer to eat a slice of this delicious bread with cream cheese. It’s also good without it.

I’m so pleased with the flavor of this bread! If you prefer less orangey flavor, omit either the juice or the extract.

This bread takes me about a half hour of preparation. There’s nearly an hour of baking time in addition.

It’s good for breakfast and brunch. I also served it as an addition to snacks at a recent game night. It was a hit.

Enjoy!