Winter Cranberry Bread

This week in Alabama, we got to experience our own little winter wonderland. Now, to someone who lives in the beautiful northern part of the country they would never consider our measly inch of snow a winter wonderland, but to this Alabama girl who loves snow, I’ll take whatever I can get. On these cold, snowy mornings, my mind is flooded with memories on my granny making her Winter Cranberry Bread. This bread is sweet, but not too sweet, so it’s perfect for a breakfast bread or just an afternoon snack.

My granny never used a hand mixer to stir this lovely bread together. “All you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon” she would say. Her recipe would change, depending on what she had in the cabinet at the time. During our Southern blizzards, everything shuts down, so she couldn’t just run down to the local Piggly Wiggly and purchase the exact ingredients to make the bread. If she didn’t have cranberries she would use this same recipe but substitute the fruit. Apples or pears with the addition of a little cinnamon is wonderful.

On your next snow day, take the time to go into the kitchen with your loved ones and make this lovely loaf of bread. I encourage you to cook with your loved ones. The memories I have of being in the kitchen with my grandparents and parents are ones that I cherish. I love cooking with my nieces and nephews and hope that when they are my age, they will look back on our time in the kitchen together as fondly as I look back on mine.

Winter Cranberry Bread

2 ½ cup All-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp. grated orange rind
1 ½ cup fresh whole cranberries (or frozen, thawed)
1 cup chopped pecans
2 eggs, beaten
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all ingredients until well blended. Pour in to greased pans.
If using a Bundt Pan, bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
If using loaf pans, bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
By: Anna Hamilton