Cranberries, those bright, tart fall fruits, are full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that may contribute to renal, bladder, and heart health. They are also a delicious staple of many an autumn table.
This recipe for Cranberry Fruit Nut Bread is a perfect addition to your holiday table. It was sent to CCSA as part of a series of emails from our resident chef, Dr. Linda Doody. She began sharing her extensive collection of favorite recipes with friends, family, and the CCSA team as a means of maintaining connections during the COVID-19 pandemic and it has since become a company tradition.
“No yoga exercise, no meditation in a chapel filled with music will rid you of your blues better than the humble task of making your own bread.”
– M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating
Cranberry Fruit Nut Bread
The Time-Life American Regional Cookbook, The Editors of Time-Life Books (1978)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into ½-inch bits
- 2 cups (½ pound) fresh, firm, unblemished cranberries
- 1 medium-sized tart cooking apple, peeled, cored, and cut into small chunks
- ½ cup walnuts
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoons double-acting baking powder (double-acting baking powder is the same as “regular” baking powder. It is called double acting because it contains 2 types of acids that create gas bubbles at different times. The first rise happens when sodium bicarbonate in the baking powder comes into contact with wet ingredients in the recipe; the second rise occurs when sodium aluminum sulfate in the baking powder is subjected to heat)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 Tbsp finely grated fresh orange peel
- ½ cup strained fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. With a pastry brush, spread 1 teaspoon butter evenly over the bottom and sides of a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon flour into the pan, tipping it to coat the bottom and sides evenly. Invert the pan and rap it sharply on the counter to remove any excess flour.
- Wash the cranberries under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels. Put the cranberries, apple, and walnuts through the coarsest blade of a food grinder into a glass or ceramic bowl. (Note: they can also be finely chopped in a food processor.)
- Combine the 2 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and sift into a deep bowl. Add the 6 Tbsp of butter bits and, with your fingertips, rub the fat and dry ingredients together
- until they look like flakes of coarse meal. Stir in the egg, orange peel, and orange juice, then add the fruit-nut mixture and continue to stir until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Spoon the batter into the buttered pan, spreading it and smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1½ hours, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn the loaf out onto a cake rack to cool. Serve the bread while it is still warm or when it has cooled completely.