Orange Cranberry Bread

Easy cranberry bread recipe with orange glaze, homemade with simple ingredients. Loaded with fresh cranberries and oranges. Soft, moist but still firm. Perfect for breakfast, brunch or dessert during Christmas holidays or even Thanksgiving.

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I love the combination of sweet and tart flavors in this bread. The cranberries not only add flavor, but such a beautiful pop of color making it so pleasant to look at and display. Sweet Potato Bread and Easy Pumpkin Bread {With Cake Mix} are also excellent holiday dessert choices during this festive time!

How To Make Cranberry Bread Recipe From Scratch?

1. Mix together sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, flour and baking powder- Until roughly combined.
2. Separately, mix together eggs, butter, buttermilk, orange juice- And mix until smooth.
3. Dump the wet mixture into dry wet mixture- And mix until just combined.
4. Add cranberries- Gently stir them in.
5. Spread batter- In loaf pan.
6. Bake- until bread is cooked through.
7. Make orange glaze- By mixing together powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest.
8. Transfer bread- To a serving dish.
9. Drizzle glaze over the warm bread- And let it set.
10. Enjoy- Cut slices and dig in!

Variations for cranberry orange bread

• Nut bread- Mix in chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds.
• Pumpkin version- Add pumpkin pie spice and 1-2 tablespoon of pumpkin puree to the batter for even more flavor.
• Add lemon juice and lemon zest- This adds another layer of tartness that balances the cranberry and sugar well.
• Try other toppings- Such as Lemon Buttercream Frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting, or Homemade Whipped Cream.
• Add fillings- Cut the bread in half and add fillings like Lemon Curd or whipped cream or even jams and preserves. Pie fillings are a great choice too because they are usually so thick. Try this Raspberry pie filling.
• Try adding other dried fruits– Such as roughly chopped raisins, apricots, mangoes, apples and so much more.
• Add shredded coconut– That gives these the bread even more texture and a tropical flavor.
• Try other extracts- Like almond, caramel, or cinnamon.
• Add herbs– Mix in crushed dried herbs such as rosemary, lavender, or rose.
• Consider adding mini chocolate chips- Such as milk chocolate, semi-sweet, dark, or white chocolate chips.

Tips and techniques

• Fresh cranberries vs. Frozen cranberries- Fresh will always be the best option. Frozen cranberries releases a lot of water during baking and that creates an odd texture.
• Can I use dried cranberries instead of fresh cranberries? Yes, you can. The bread will just have a chewy texture from the dried fruit instead.
• How do I know when the bread is done? It's done when an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
• The top is browning, what do I do? If the top starts to brown too quickly, you can cover the bread with aluminum foil paper in the final 10 minutes.
• Adjust flavors- Add more or less extract and zest, according to your preference.
• Don’t over-bake- This will make the bread very dry and crumbly.
• Grease and flour pan– Because this prevents the bread from sticking to the pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it, if you prefer that method.
• Don't over-mix- Because that makes the bread very gummy and dense.
• Use unsalted butter- Because it prevents the bread from becoming too salty.
• Homemade buttermilk substitute - Mix together 1 cup whole milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir and then, use it in this recipe.

Storage

• Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 3 days.
• Freeze- Wrap well and store in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge overnight.

More cranberry desserts

• Cranberry Pie {No Bake}
• Cranberry Orange Cookies {Shortbread}
• Cranberry Orange Scones {With Orange Glaze}
• White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
• Coconut Cranberry Cake {With Cake Mix}
• Apple Cranberry Crisp {Cranberry Crumble}

Recipe

Orange Cranberry Bread

Abeer Rizvi

Easy cranberry bread recipe with orange glaze, homemade with simple ingredients. Loaded with fresh cranberries and oranges. Soft, moist but still firm.

4.99 from 55 ratings

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 Slices

Calories 255 kcal

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup Granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoon Orange zest
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• 2 Eggs Large
• ½ cup Butter Unsalted, Melted
• ¾ cup Buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon Orange juice
• 1 cup Cranberries Fresh, Roughly chopped

Orange Glaze

• 1 cup Powdered sugar
• 1.5 tablespoon Orange juice Preferably freshly squeezed
• 1 teaspoon Orange zest

Instructions

 

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder until roughly combined.
• In another mixing bowl, add eggs, butter, buttermilk, orange juice and mix until smooth.
• Dump this wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Don't over-mix!
• Gently stir in the chopped cranberries until evenly distributed.
• Spread batter in a greased and floured loaf pan (Dimensions: 9x5).
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean. If the top starts to brown too quickly, you can cover the bread with aluminum foil paper in the final 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let it cool for 30 minutes. It would eventually be warm and not completely cool.
• While the bread is cooling, mix together powdered sugar, orange juice, orange zest until smooth and creamy.
• Next, run a knife along the edges of the pan and then, turn it upside down gently to remove it from the pan onto a serving dish or cake dish.
• Drizzle the glaze over the warm bread.
• Let the glaze set for about 15-20 minutes.
• Use a sharp knife to cut slices and enjoy!

Notes

• Read all my tips above. 
• Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 3gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 95mgPotassium: 101mgFiber: 1gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 310IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 1mg

An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.

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