day 10 {cranberry bread}

When my brother was in second grade, he had this great teacher.  I think her name was Mrs. Love or Mrs. Lovejoy.  I need to ask my mom.  But she sent this recipe home at Christmastime with the students and my mom made it, and it became a family favorite.  I still remember the original copy of the recipe.  It was that old-school blue print, I guess it used to be a cheaper way to make copies?  We've made it almost every year since.

I really wanted to make this bread and have lovely photos to share.  But who am I kidding? I have the best of intentions but don't always quite have the energy or time.  I do hope to make a loaf before the end of the year.

This is not my bread...but looks similar!

This is a great gift for family, friends, neighbors, co-workers or just to have during the holidays.  It's great toasted with a little butter too.

Grandma's Favorite Cranberry Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups of sifted flour
1 cup of sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1 egg beaten
1-3 tsp of grated orange peel
3/4 cup of orange juice
1.5 cup chopped cranberries (I think about 1 bag)
(You could also add chopped nuts.)

Instructions:

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a large bowl.  
2. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  
3. Add egg, orange peel and orange juice all at once.  
4. Stir just until moist (overstirring will make the bread too dense).  
5. Add in cranberries. (You can use a chopper for the cranberries or just a big knife to chop them).
6. 
   
7. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan.  
8. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  
9. Remove and cool on wire wrack.

You could also make this into muffins, which I've done before, but I think the bread turns out better.

Pick up a bag of cranberries next time you are at the store (they're usually in the produce section) and make this recipe.  You will thank me! I don't know if I've tasted other cranberry breads, but I think it's the orange juice and peel in the batter that really kicks it up a notch.

Day 9 {the christmas story through the eyes of a child}

Day 8 {ho ho ho}

Day 7 {ready to sing}

Day 6 {first christmas} 

Day 5 {Christmas Movies} 

Day 4 {Christmas Music} 

Day 3 {Childhood Memories} 

Day 2 {The Most Coveted Gift} 

Day 1 {O Christmas Tree}