Jessica's Cranberry-Walnut Bread

Editors in the Kitchen: Jessica's Cranberry-Walnut Bread

They're not just for sauce! Put cranberries to work in this 

sweet and tangy quick bread.

By Jessica Leigh Hester

To be fair, I guess it's not really accurate to call this recipe "mine." Really, all I did was 

buy a package of Ocean Spray cranberries, flip it over, and decide to make the recipe 

printed on the back. Turns out, that was a great decision, because this foolproof bread 

comes together in minutes and is beyond delicious. A bit of orange juice adds to the 

tangy zest; I added cinnamon and nutmeg to play up the autumnal flavors. 

This recipe is a great blank slate. I bet it would taste great with some shredded carrots 

or zucchini, or even sweetened up with pumpkin puree or chocolate chips. It's really 

conducive to experimentation, and isn't that half the fun? 

(Eating is the other half, naturally.) 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon orange peel, grated (optional)
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (or frozen)
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. 
2. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. 

3. Stir in orange juice, oil, orange peel and egg. Mix until well blended. 
4. Stir in cranberries and nuts. 
5. Spread evenly in loaf pan. 
6. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
7. Cool on rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

Country Living has not tested this recipe, but if you love this, you should also try our Bourbon-Cranberry Bread Pudding!