“I don’t even use a mixer with this one. Quick prep time!” says our niece Susie, and she is right. Making this cranberry pumpkin bread is fast and easy.
With just a little bit of oil and generous amounts of pumpkin and applesauce complemented by the tartness of fresh or frozen cranberries, this bread is moist and delicious. Canned pumpkin, applesauce and cranberries are all excellent sources of fiber too, so this bread is also good for you.
Slice it thick and spread it with unsalted butter for a special treat.
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. allspice
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
15 oz. can pumpkin
1/2 cup applesauce
1 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups cranberries
PROCEDURE:
Sift the flour, spices, baking powder and salt together into a large mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl beat the eggs until they are lemon colored and stir in the sugar, pumpkin, applesauce and oil.
Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease and flour two 5 x 9 inch loaf pans. Cut the cranberries in half.
Stir the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients until moistened, then fold in the cranberries. Don’t beat the batter, just make sure that everything is moist and mixed together.
Spoon the batter into the loaf pans and bake 55 minutes, then test for doneness. A toothpick will come out clean when the bread is done. If batter sticks to the toothpick, bake another five minutes and test again. If the bread is not too brown on top, bake it an extra couple of minutes after the toothpick test says the bread is done.
Remove the pans to a rack and cool for about twenty minutes. Loosen the loaves and put them on the rack to finish cooling.
NOTES: Susie uses pumpkin pie spice, but we like the spices we use for pumpkin pie. Use whichever you prefer.
Using 5 x 9 inch pans produces loaves that are about 2 1/2 inches high. If you want higher loaves, use 4 x 8 inch pans and adjust the cooking time to make sure that the loaves are done.
Courage in the Kitchen 