I love a good quick bread – pumpkin chocolate chip bread and blueberry banana bread are some of our all time favorites. This sweet and tart cranberry bread is the perfect treat during the winter months when fresh cranberries are in season!
Cranberry Bread Ingredients
When you make cranberry bread you will need flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, butter, an egg, buttermilk, vanilla extract, cranberries, orange zest, powdered sugar and orange juice. When you want the sweet and tart taste of cranberries, try this bread or my other baked cranberry treats like cranberry muffins and cranberry orange pull apart monkey bread. You should also try my holiday cranberry dishes like slow cooker cranberry sauce, cranberry Jello salad and cranberry relish.
How Do You Make Cranberry Bread?
This bread is a one bowl recipe. First, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar in a bowl. Next mix the wet ingredients, the butter, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla, into the dry ingredients. Finally, fold in fresh cranberries. Pour the dough into a pan and bake it until done. After the bread has baked and cooled, add the glaze. Make the glaze by mixing powdered sugar mixed with orange juice. Add a generous amount of the glaze to your cranberry bread, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Bread
When you choose cranberries, look for the berries with the most uniform red color. This batter can be made up to a day in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use a toothpick to check to see if your bread is done. If you have leftover cranberries on hand, be sure to try my cranberry chicken recipe for a fabulous dinner option!
Cranberry Bread Variations
While this bread is delicious as-is, you can add other ingredients to switch up the flavor profile.
White Chocolate: Add 1/2 cup white chocolate chips to the batter. Ginger: Add 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger to the recipe. Lime: Swap out the orange zest for lime zest and use lime juice in the glaze. Coconut: Add 1/3 cup flaked coconut to the dry ingredients. Apple: Add 1 diced, peeled apple to the recipe. Dark Chocolate: Add 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks to the batter. Nuts: Add in 1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts for a little crunch in your bread.
This bread is sure to be a hit with all the cranberry lovers in your life – you need to love that sweet-tart flavor combination to enjoy this one!
