Cranberry Bread
I remember this recipe all my life. I remember giving cranberry bread for Christmas gifts when we were poor college students. It is great for breakfast, toasted with a little cream cheese spread on top!
Yield: 1 loaf
Time: 2 hours
Preheat: 350 degrees
Special equipment: loaf pan
Ingredients:
2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 orange, grate rind and squeeze juice
1 tbs shortening
1/2 cup boiling water
1 egg
1 cup pecans
1 cup raw cranberries, cut in half
Instructions:
Mix together first 5 ingredients. Combine juice and grated rind of orange, shortening and water. Beat egg and add to liquids. Blend this into dry ingredients and add pecans and cranberries. Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan. Be sure the batter is pushed well into the corners and away from the middle. Let the loaf stand for 20 minutes then bake for 60 - 70 minutes.
Note about cranberries: If you look at the berries you can see the stem end. The best way to cut them is between the stem ends. The inside of the berry is very pretty and this will add to the look of the loaf.
However, this is quite time consuming and you can put the cranberries into a food processor and chop them up. I usually buy cranberries when they are inexpensive around the holidays and put them in the freezer. They freeze very well in their original bags with no preparation. You can put frozen cranberries into the food processor and process them into perfect pieces for baking. They don’t get mushy or soggy if processed while frozen.