Best Cranberry Orange Bread Recipe
A perfect combination of sweet oranges and tart cranberries come together to make a loaf of delicious and festive Cranberry Orange Bread.
Servings 12 servings
Ingredients
Batter:
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 large orange (juice and zest) zest (save 1 teaspoon for glaze)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 6 tablespoons butter softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cups fresh cranberries rinsed and patted dry
- ½ tablespoon all purpose flour
- Optional: orange slices and cranberries for garnish
Orange Glaze Ingredients:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons orange juice more if needed to thin
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour a loaf pan (9" x 5")
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine milk, orange zest (Reserve 1 tsp zest for the glaze), and orange juice in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Use a stand mixer and cream butter and sugar at medium speed for 3 minutes. Beat in 2 large eggs, mixing well.
- Add flour mixture in 2 parts, alternating with the milk mixture and mixing on medium/low speed until incorporated with each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Toss cranberries with 1/2 Tbsp flour, then fold them into the batter, stirring until incorporated. Spread the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45-50 min at 350˚F until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes; run a knife around the edges and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
To Make the Glaze:
- In a separate bowl, stir together powdered sugar, orange juice, and reserved zest. Stir until smooth. It should have a drizzling consistency. Add more orange juice to thin it out or powdered sugar to make it thicker.
Notes
For sugared cranberries for topping:
To a saucepan, add 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Stir and bring to a simmer until all sugar has melted. Drop a cup of cranberries into the liquid and stir for 2 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and remove cranberries with a slotted spoon from the liquid to a parchment lined baking sheet. Drop cranberries (a few at a time) into a bowl of sugar, roll around coating well. Place on a cooling rack (not touching) until dry and the sugar has hardened.