Festive Cranberry Loaf Food

CRANBERRY BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
• Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pan.
• Mix sugar and butter in a medium mixing bowl until completely blended.
• Add banana, milk and eggs, mixing well.
• Add dry ingredients, mixing just until moist.
• Stir in nuts and cranberries.
• Spread batter evenly in the loaf pan.
• Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean.
• Remove from pan, cool on rack.

FESTIVE CRANBERRY DRINK

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, combine cranberries and 1 qt. water. Cook over medium heat until berries pop, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Strain through a fine strainer, pressing mixture with a spoon; discard skins. Return cranberry pulp and juice to the pan. , Stir in the sugar, juices, Red Hots and remaining water. Place cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag; add to juice mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until sugar and Red Hots are dissolved. , Remove from the heat. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Discard spice bag. Serve drink warm or cold.

FESTIVE CRANBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; beat well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in cranberries, dates and pecans. Spread in a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, for glaze, heat orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves. Invert cake onto a serving plate. With a toothpick, punch holes in cake. Spoon glaze over cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. If desired, top with sugared cranberries and rosemary.

FESTIVE CRANBERRY LOAF

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two bread pans.
• 2. Cut up orange and remove core. In a blender or food processor process the orange so that the rind and orange sections are broken down. Add the cranberries and pulse once or twice. Add juice and sugar and pulse again. Be sure to add the juice and the sugar with the cranberries and orange.
• 3. In a large bowl, mix together oil (applesauce if using) and eggs. Mix in orange and cranberry mixture, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Gradually blend flour mixture into the cranberry mixture. Pour into the prepared loaf pans.
• 4. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, and cool completely. If making smaller loaves cook for less time.
• 5. Melt the vanilla chips in the microwave and pour over cooled bread...while still warm sprinkle with colored sugar.

EASY ONE-BOWL CRANBERRY ORANGE LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F (regular bake setting/not fan assisted), with rack in the centre of the oven. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into 4 pieces and add to the dry ingredients. Using your fingertips, rub the cold butter into the flour mixture, breaking it up as you go, until you have an evenly crumbly mixture resembling corn meal.
• Remove the zest from the orange and set aside for now. In a 2-cup measuring cup, add the juice from the orange. Add enough water to the measuring cup to fill up to the 3/4 cup mark. add the orange zest and the well beaten egg to the measuring cup and stir to combine. Pour the orange juice mixture all at once into the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, mix together just enough to dampen all the flour. Gently stir in the cranberries. (I like to dust frozen cranberries with a tiny bit of flour before adding to the dough).
• Spoon the batter into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour, or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. (Starting with frozen cranberries may need a few extra minutes of baking. Also note that darker pans will bake more quickly. So watch closely near the end of baking, but don't be afraid to bake a little longer, if needed).
• Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the side of the pan and turn out/remove from pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once cooled completely, prepare glaze by stirring together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Place a piece of waxed paper or paper towel under the cooling rack to catch drips, then spoon the glaze over the cooled loaf, spooning it onto the top and letting it run down the side. Allow to stand until the glaze sets (about 30 minutes) before slicing.