Orange Cranberry Bread

The base for this recipe came from my good friend, Laura. Laura and I went through the teaching credential program together and have been close buddies ever since. She is a rock star and I love spending time with her.

I remember the first time I had this cranberry bread rather vividly. It was the night before our final assignments were due and my laptop DIED on me. I was horrified. I wanted to throw up. I cried. Although I had been saving drafts on my flash drive, I hadn’t updated in a few days. There was no way I was going to tell my professors that I couldn’t turn in my work because my computer crashed. No way in heck was I going to be *that* girl. So I called Laura, freaking out, and she told me to come over and pick up her laptop. When I got there, she handed it off to me, plus a ziploc bag filled with some of this delicious bread. One all-nighter and three slices of cranberry bread later, I turned in all my assignments on time. Phew!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• juice and rind of one orange
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (you can use buttermilk if you’re not worried about dairy)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional…Laura hates nuts. She says I like nuts because I am nutty. This is a true observation.)

Directions:

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Whisk all wet ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix in dry ingredients plus cranberries and nuts until just combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon batter into a buttered loaf pan. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Bake at 325° for 45 to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean.

I used coconut oil because I wanted to go dairy free for this recipe.

So pretty…yet so terrible tasting when raw.

The tiny seeds are so cute!

The fresh smell of citrus.

Getting ready to rise.

Peek-a-boo!

This bread is uber tender.

Bailey is my constant companion.

Ready to eat. Yum!