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Cranberry Bread is a delicious combination of sweet flavors and tartness. It is the best Cranberry Bread Recipe and perfect for the holiday season.
Everyone will love this moist cranberry bread. It is a really easy bread recipe that I make every November and December. The cranberry flavor is similar to Cranberry Orange Muffins and Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe.
It freezes well and makes a great breakfast, snack or sweet treat. It is so much more than just a dessert recipe. You may even love this Oatmeal Bread Recipe.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe
- Delicious Cranberry Flavor. It is perfectly tangy and sweet.
- Easy to make. It is a very simple recipe for quick bread.
Ingredients:
For the Cranberries:
- Cranberries (fresh)
- All Purpose Flour
For the Bread:
- Unsalted Butter (softened)
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Large Eggs
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
Substitutions and Additions
- Mini Loaves. Feel free to use mini loaf pans to make smaller loaves of the bread perfect for gift giving.
- Nuts. Add walnuts or pecans to the batter if desired.
- Glaze. Top the bread with an orange glaze by combining powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. It results in a tasty Orange Cranberry Bread.
- Dried Cranberries. Swap fresh cranberries for dried cranberries.
How to make Cranberry Bread:
Step 1. While the oven is preheating, prepare the fresh cranberries by tossing them together with a teaspoon of flour in a small bowl.
Step 2. Get out a large mixing bowl and cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. You can use a stand mixer or handheld). Then add in the vanilla and eggs. Combine everything together.
Step 3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 4. Gradually stir in the flour mixture and milk into the wet ingredients, alternating between each one, until fully combined. Do not overmix the batter. You can combine by hand or on low speed.
Step 5. Carefully stir in the cranberries by hand into the batter.
Step 6. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. It will need to bake about 45-60 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
Step 7. Let the bread cool completely in the pan.
Step 8. Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Then the bread is ready to slice, serve and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Don’t overmix the batter. The bread will be dense and not light and fluffy if overmixed.
- Fresh Baking Powder. Make sure you are using baking powder that is fresh and not expired.
- Measure the flour accurately. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup instead of scooping it. This will ensure you are not using too much flour.
- Cover the bread with foil. If you notice the bread is starting to brown too much on top while baking, cover with foil.
Frequently Asked Questions
This step is very important as it keeps the cranberries from sinking in the bread.
Yes, you can. Just make sure they are thawed out before using them.
Store the leftover bread in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. Wrap in aluminum foil, plastic wrap or parchment paper.
This bread freezes really well. You can freeze an entire loaf or slices. Make sure it is cool and then wrap in foil and place in a freezer bag.
Freeze the bread up to 3 months.
More Easy Quick Bread Recipes:
Try this easy Cranberry Bread recipe today. Then please come back and leave a star recipe rating and comment. I love to hear from you!
Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
For the Cranberries:
- 1 1/2 cup Cranberries fresh
- 1 teaspoon All Purpose Flour
For the Bread:
- 1/3 cup Butter softened
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Large Eggs
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9X5 loaf pan with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Prepare the cranberries by tossing together the cranberries and the teaspoon of flour together in a. Small bowl. Set aside. This step is very important as it keeps the cranberries from sinking in the bread.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer (stand up or hand held). Add in the vanilla and eggs. Mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Slowly stir in the dry ingredients and milk into the butter mixture, alternating between each one, until fully combined. Either stir in by hand or on low speed to keep the batter from being over mixed.
- Then gently stir in the cranberries by hand into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool completely in the pan. Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
- Then the bread is ready to slice, serve and enjoy!