Cranberry Nut bread

Cranberry Nut Bread

This my family's favorite holiday treat, when i was little we left cranberry nut bread out for Santa, instead of cookies. Dad said Santa would be sick of cookies and loved having something a little different at our house. We make this every Thanksgiving and every Christmas. The extended family fully expects us to bring some with us to our family gatherings. As soon as we get to Grandma's house everyone swoops in to get some before its gone. This is the very best cranberry bread there is. Nothing says its Christmas to me more than Cranberry Nut Bread.

Place the frozen cranberries into the food processor.

Chop them pretty fine.

Put them in a bowl.

Add the sugar.

Mix thoroughly. The sugar will turn into a syrup. Do not skip this step, if you don't add sugar to the cranberries it is a disaster, a friend of my moms skipped this step once, it wasn't pretty, bad things happen. You don't even want to know....

See how pretty that is?

Grate some orange rind. I like to use my micro plane, but if you don't have one a cheese grater will work too.

In another bowl add all your dry ingredients.

Flour.

Baking powder. This recipe calls for A LOT of baking powder, I promise it is not a misprint, you really need 9 tsp. of baking powder for 2 loaves.

Salt.

Grated orange rinds.

Mix together.

Add the sugar.

Mix again.

Melt your butter.

take the pan off the heat and add the milk.

In another bowl (lots of dishes in this one ) beat 2 eggs.

Add to the milk and butter mixture.

Bring the wet ingredients and dry together, it's what they really want.

Look how syrupy and lovely that is.

Add the cranberries to the batter.

Fold them in gently, but don't over mix.

All mixed in, see how it's got some lumps? That's just right.

Add your favorite nut. The original calls for walnut, but I'm not a fan, so we use pecans.

Grease 2 bread pans.

Split the batter between them.

I am so excited!

Mmmmm, the house smells wonderful.

You probably should let the bread cool for a little bit. Don't burn yourself!

However, I like it all hot and steamy. The better to melt your butter dear...

Slightly sweet, a little tart and oh so yummy. Please do yourself a favor, if you like cranberries, try this bread. It's amazing!.

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen cranberries

1/2 cup sugar

grind cranberries and mix with sugar. Set aside.

2 cups sugar

6 cups flour

9 tsp. baking powder

6 tbs grated orange rind

2 cups milk

6 tbs melted butter

2 eggs slightly beaten

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, add orange rind. Mix in the sugar. Melt your butter take off the heat and add milk, then the eggs. Add to dry ingredients. Stir just enough to moisten. Fold in sweetened cranberries, then nuts. Split between 2 loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour.

Banana bread

I have made this Banana bread since I was a teenager. I'm unsure where my mom got this recipe, but I found it it her mess of a recipe folder written out by hand in her handwriting. I have a photocopy of that hand written recipe. My husband was laughing at me trying to squint to read the handwriting through the smears (I'm a messy cook and spill all over my recipes when I am cooking)

Break up your bananas,

the riper the bananas the better the bread tastes.

Smash them up. I used a potato masher.

Here we go, nice smooshed up nanners.

Put your butter into the mixer.

I doubled the batch for 2 loaves of banana bread. The recipe is for 1 loaf.

Cream the butter and sugar, this takes about 3 minutes.

Butter and sugar creamy goodness.

Now add your eggs. I like to break my eggs into a bowl,

that way you can easily fish out any shells that get in there.

When a recipe says mix creamed mixture with eggs until

 "pale and lemony in color" this is what they mean.

I don't know what is up my my mother's recipes, this one didn't originally call for vanilla either, but I toss it in anyway. I think it makes almost any sweet thing taste better.

In a separate bowl, add your dry ingredients.

Flour first.

Baking powder.

Salt.

I don't have a sifter. I know I should with all the baking I do, but I have never had an issue when I do it this way. Just take a whisk and mix it all really well.

We're going to alternate adding the flour mixture and the bananas. 

First, a cup or so of flour.

Next a half cup or so of bananas. It does not have to be exact,

we just want to add them in alternating batches.

Keep alternating until both the flour and banana's are all in the mixer.

Such pretty Banana Bread batter... wait... I forgot something...

Add batter to your greased loaf pan.

(I still am missing something)

Place in a 350 degree oven.

(It was at this point that I realized I forgot to add pecans. So I stirred some in. Normally do that after the flour and bananas have been incorporated)

I inserted a toothpick to be sure it came out clean.

We love to eat this hot right out of the oven.

Everything is better with butter!

This is honestly the best banana bread I have ever had.

My husband actually proposed to me this weekend for making it! I gently reminded him it was too late, I am already married.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups flour

2 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 to 3 mashed bananas ( I always use 3)

1/2 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter until glossy, add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until pale lemon in color add vanilla. Sift dry ingredients; add alternately with bananas, blending thoroughly after each addition. Fold in nuts. Grease loaf pan. (8.5 x 4.5) Turn batter into pan. Bake 70 minutes until tested done (toothpick inserted comes out clean). Let bread partially cool before turning onto cooling rack.