Cranberry Walnut Bread

I wanted to do something special to thank the people at UMB who helped me the most during my graduate career- my advisor, Dr. Swaan, the woman in charge of ordering, Yelena and the department accountant, Gerry. Since I was well known as a baker, I thought it would be nice to bring them homemade bread on my last day at school. I got an awesome mini loaf pan for my bridal shower, so I thought this was a great opportunity to use it. I made my mom's cranberry walnut bread recipe and made three mini breads for the gifts. The breads turned out great and they really appreciated the home-baked presents!

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Zest of 1/2 medium orange (about 1 tsp)

3/4 C orange juice (fresh squeezed or purchased)

1 egg

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 C all-purpose flour

3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 C coarsely chopped fresh cranberries

1/2 C chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine egg, oil, orange juice and orange zest in one mixing bowl.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and flour.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until just combined (over mixing will produce more gluten, toughening the bread).

5. Fold in cranberries and chopped walnuts.

6. Turn into lightly greased 8x4x2-inch loaf pan on or three 6x3x2-inch loaf pans.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes for large pan and 35-40 minutes for smaller loaf pans.

8. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then remove from pan and cool completely.

9. Enjoy! Small loaves are great for gifts!

Difficulty: Medium

Debbie's Rating: 9