Spiced Orange Cranberry Bread

This post is in partnership with The Loose Leaf, all opinions are my own.

The cranberries are finally in the stores so let the baking begin.  I love these tart little fruits and use them in so many recipes from salads, scones, baked chicken, appetizers and my favorite Spiced Orange Cranberry Bread.  Orange and cranberries go so well together for creating that irresistible sweet-tart flavor.

Mixing these two fruits together is like a color explosion, this flavor combination just says bake me for the holidays. I love baking this bread to give as a gift, and everyone loves it.  You can even bake your bread in miniature paper bread pans, wrap it in plastic, put a ribbon around it, and include a couple of tea bags; this makes such a festive gift.

Because cranberries have a short season I have learned to stock up and freeze bags, only because I use them so often.  Having cranberries in the freezer means cranberry scones in May, cranberries in my oatmeal all the time, or a cranberry brie appetizer for a summer party.

Making a quick bread is, quick, really it is.  You just mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, fold in the cranberries spoon in the pan and bake.  It’s that easy.  You can always add a sweet orange glaze to the bread to make it even more festive.

Orange zest is the secret to making this bread so flavorful and make sure to mix the sugar and orange zest together before adding it to the batter so it flavors the sugar.  I actually like making more of this to sprinkle on top of the bread.

Pull out your favorite mixing bowl and turn on your oven it’s time to bake. I promise your kitchen is going to smell like orange spice.

5 from 5 votes

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Spiced Orange Cranberry Bread

Sweet and tart this Cranberry Orange Bread is everybody's favorite.  Perfect for gift giving, for holiday and even for breakfast.  This bread is a winner.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Author Jere' @onehotoven

Ingredients

• 2 cups AP, flour
• 3/4 cups white sugar can use coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1 zest of one orange
• 1 each egg, large
• 2 tbsp butter, melted can use coconut oil
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup cranberries, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 5 loaf pan.

2. Put the sugar in a small bowl and add the zest of one orange.  With your fingers combine the sugar and the zest to mix.  

3. Add all the other dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix.  Add in the sugar/orange zest mixture and stir to combine.

4. Mix the egg, butter, and orange juice together then add to the dry ingredients.  Stir till just combined.

5. Gently fold in the chopped cranberries.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Remove the bread from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan.  Finish cooling on a wire rack.

There is nothing better than the smell of this bread baking in your oven. Oh, but there is something better, it’s eating a slice of this warm  Spiced Orange Cranberry bread, it’s just delicious.

Don’t forget your cup of tea. I am pairing this bread with a Chocolate Cinnamon Spice tea from The Loose Leaf.  This is a red rooibos tea with bits of cocoa nibs, plus orange peel, cinnamon chips, ginger, and cloves for some tasty aromatics that all combine for a subtle spicey cup of tea that pairs with the tart cranberries and flavorful orange in the bread.

There is nothing better than the right cup of tea and your favorite dessert.

If you like cranberries try my favorite Cranberry Winter Fruit Salad which is full of apples, oranges, pomegranate,  and of course cranberries.

I use dried and fresh cranberries in my Orange Cranberry Scones. These scones are perfect for a brunch or an afternoon snack with a good pot of tea.

Make sure you get a good bread pan.  I have great success with this heavy duty pan for both quick breads and yeast bread.

I made you a pin for this delicious bread to save to your favorite Pinterest board.

Make sure to check out The Loose Leaf for so amazing tea to go with your desserts.

Blessing to all my baking friends,

~Jere’