This year, it's hard to say good-bye to Christmas. Yes, the decorations are all packed away. I’m no longer listening to seasonal music or watching those heart-warming movies that often bring a tear and a smile. But in my heart I just can’t let go.
So I made cranberry walnut bread. I’ve made it every
Christmas for—well, so many years I can’t remember how many. I got the
recipe from a Woman’s Day magazine I saw in a doctor’s waiting room and quickly
copied since I don’t like to rip things out of other people’s magazines. The
recipe is actually called Cranberry Cake Wreath, and the photo showed this
yummy treat made in a bundt pan and decorated with an icing glaze to look like
a snowy Christmas wreath.
However the texture and taste of this “cake” is more like a
quick bread or muffin. Instead of icing the top, I just cover it in a snowy
shower of confectioner’s sugar. It is my favorite breakfast treat—toasted with
a smear of butter. Yum.
Maybe Christmas doesn’t have to end yet after all. Now,
where are my Mannheim Steamroller CDs…?
Cranberry Walnut Bread
Makes 2 loaves or 1 Bundt pan
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup orange juice
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
Powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bread pans or
Bundt pan.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in
a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Add eggs, orange juice and butter to
the well; stir liquid ingredients just until blended. Add cranberries and
walnuts to the well. Stir together liquid and dry ingredients just until
combined.
Spread batter into prepared pans. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes
depending on the size of pan until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes
out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and finish cooling. Dust
the top with powdered sugar.
For those of you following the Friday posting of the Gourmet
Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers
in the food world that I and a number of fellow food bloggers are paying
tribute to by posting a recipe from each week, I am taking a break for this
week. However, please check in with the others to see their recipe creations.
I’ll be back at it next Friday with a tribute to Donna Hay and her French Onion
Soup.
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Claudia -A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie -Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Amy - Beloved Green
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Nancy - Picadillo
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
Claudia – Journey of An Italian Cook
2 comments:
My Christmas tree is still up ... just can't say goodbye to the season quite yet ... maybe next weekend ... beautiful bread! I love that you made it in the bundt form! I'm always boring and just pop the batter in loaf pans
Thanks for following me on Twitter! The bread/cake looks terrific and I have cranberries frozen in the freezer. (My cookies are still on the back porch/deep freeze in St. Paul.) I, too, love cranberry bread or muffins, which are "just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast," according to a friend. Will be watching for your Donna Hay recipe; I just made and photographed her Ricotta, Chive, and Prosciutto Omelettes in the middle of the day to get the natural light. Great lunch, too! Happy Thursday, Alyce
Post a Comment