Orange Glazed Cranberry Bread

 

It's the holidays and tis the season of cranberry goodness!  I'm not a huge cranberry fan....or even a citrus fan, for that matter....but I will say that I eat every crumb off of my plate when enjoying a piece of this bread.  It is incredibly moist and has great flavor. 

I discovered this bread last year when looking up holiday baking ideas that my husband would enjoy eating.  He is not a man who eat sweets ~ at least not the sweets I enjoy, like chocolate and holiday spices.  However, he does like a good "fruity dessert", and he particularly loves berries and citrus.   This  cranberry orange bread has now become a favorite of his.

I got this recipe here from Sally's Baking Addiction.  Be sure to check out the link for the original recipe, along with tips about freshness and storage of the baked bread.  This recipe is definitely a keeper and will be made in my family for several holidays to come.  The only thing I did different from the original recipe was omit the pecans.  My husband hates nuts in his desserts.  I also never keep buttermilk on hand, but if a recipe calls for buttermilk, it is important.  My mom taught me along time ago to add a tbs. of vinegar to cup of milk to create buttermilk, and so that's what I did for this recipe. 

This yummy bread, topped with a streusel and orange glaze, can be served for breakfast, brunch or dessert.  It even makes a great holiday gift for teachers or neighbors.  I ended up making three or four loaves last year and gave them away to people who helped watch my boys throughout the year.

Ingredients:

Streusel:
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbs. butter, cold

Bread:
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup. chopped cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 large egg
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbs. orange zest

Glaze:
1 c. powder sugar
1-2 tbs. fresh orange juice
as much orange zest as you want

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray.  Make the streusel by mixing flour, sugar and cinnamon and then cut butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter or fork and set aside.  To make the bread, toss flour, baking soda, salt and cranberries together in a mixing bowl and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk egg, brown sugar and sugar together until there are no lumps, then add buttermilk, oil, vanilla and orange zest until combined without overmixing.  Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together.  Pour batter in loaf pan and top with streusel.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the bread pokes clean.  To make the glaze mix ingredients together, adding more juice or powdered sugar to get the right consistency.  Once bread has cooled, top with the glaze.