Quick and Easy Christmas Bread
This homemade Cranberry Orange Christmas Bread is soft, sweet, and full of festive flavor. Quick to make and perfect for gifting or enjoying with family on Christmas morning!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- zest from 1 large orange
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour fluffed, measured then scraped flat
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons butter cold
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup milk 2% or whole, see note 1
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice
- ¾ cup cranberries cut in half, see notes 3 and 4
Orange Glaze:
- ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. Cut cranberries and set aside.
- Place sugar and zest into a bowl and press the zest into the sugar with your fingers. This helps the orange flavor really soak in. Add flour, salt and baking powder and whisk to combine. Remove butter from fridge and cut into cubes. Cut the cold, cubed butter into the dry ingredients. I like to use my hands for this, but a fork or cut-in also work well. If you use your hands, push the butter into the flour with your fingers.
- Place egg in a separate bowl and whisk for about 30 seconds. Add milk, orange juice and vanilla. Whisk lightly to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, using a folding motion and a spatula. Mix until about 90% combined. Add the cranberries and fold only until combined. Be very careful not to over mix. See note 5.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out, being very careful not to overwork the batter. This will keep it light and fluffy.
- Place in oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely then combine powdered sugar, orange juice and zest together and pour over the top. Garnish with tiny bits of chopped cranberry, if desired.
Notes
- I highly recommend using 2% or whole milk in this recipe. Baking is a science and some of the fat in this recipe comes from the milk.
- To use butter instead of oil, melt ½ cup butter and allow to cool a minute or 2. Then use the same as the oil. This will make your bread a bit richer and a bit firmer.
- I like cutting about ½ of mine into halves and the other half into quarters for a variety of sizes.
- For a lot of cranberries, feel free to increase cranberries up to 1 ¼ cups, if desired.
- It is crucial not to over mix this recipe! If you over mix it will be dense and tough instead of light, fluffy and moist.
Nutrition
Serving: 1thick sliceCalories: 192kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 258mgPotassium: 60mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 174IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 1mg
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