Cranberry-Apple Bread
Submitted by rosemarie
Cranberry apple quick bread with walnuts, warm spices, and a simple confectioners’ sugar glaze. Tart cranberries and tender apples in every slice.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
50 minREADY
90 minTart cranberries and chopped apples give this quick bread a fruity bite that cuts right through the rich, buttery crumb. Dark brown sugar adds a caramel depth you won’t get from white sugar, and a trio of warm spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, fills the kitchen with that unmistakable fall baking smell.
The batter comes together using the creaming method: beat the butter and sugar until light, then alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk. This keeps the bread tender without overdeveloping the gluten. Fold in the fruit and walnuts gently at the end so they stay evenly distributed.
Once cooled, a thin confectioners’ sugar glaze drizzled over the top gives it just enough sweetness to balance the cranberry tartness.
Pro Tips
- Use fresh cranberries, not dried. Dried cranberries are too sweet and won’t give you the sharp, tart pops this bread needs.
- Chop the apples fine so they bake through completely. Large chunks stay crunchy and create wet pockets in the bread.
- Test with a wooden pick at 50 minutes. If it comes out with wet batter, give it another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Let the loaf cool completely before glazing. Warm bread melts the glaze right off.
Variations
- Add orange zest to the batter for a bright citrus note alongside the cranberries.
- Swap walnuts for pecans or toasted almonds.
- Skip the glaze and dust with powdered sugar for a simpler finish.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
To make bread, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl until well blended.
In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.
Beat un eggs, one at a time, until well blended.
Alternatelybeat flour mixture and milk into butter-and-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Stir in cranberries, apples, and walnuts until just commbined.
Turn into greased and floured 9×5-inch loaf pan.
Bake about 50 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool bread 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.
Remove loaf from pan and cool completely on rack.
To make glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth.
Drizzle over bread.
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