This enjoyable dessert bread has a wonderful array of flavors: delicious, tart cranberries, the double whammy of orange zest and orange juice, and crunchy nutty pecans. It also has a superb taste — certainly one that you and your family will enjoy for years to come. I like to freeze cranberries when they are in season around November and December each year to reserve for recipes like this. In fact, my cranberries were frozen when I made this marvelous cranberry bread.

I found this recipe on the back of an OceanSpray cranberry package back in the 1980s, but it has gone through a lot of revisions over the years. The main thing I had to do was increase the flour because the original recipe overflowed the pans every time I made it. Increasing the flour made a world of difference. I also decided to leave the cranberries whole rather than grate them in a food processor. I like the texture better this way and it is also a lot easier and less messy. I’ve added additional orange peel too, to get more orange essence into the bread. Yum, yum!

If you’re looking for a tasty and impressive sweet bread recipe, consider giving this one a try with my adaptations. OceanSpray still publishes the original recipe with only 2 cups of flour, but if you choose to make it their way I recommend you put a large cookie sheet under your pans to catch all of the drips from the batter overflowing the pans in your oven. Yikes!

Our family loves cranberries and oranges and pecans. And this bread is breathtaking. It’s really worth a few minutes in the kitchen to provide this great treat for your family and friends.  Because this bread is so festive, it’s a great recipe for holiday baking and gift giving too.

Lots of juicy, tart cranberries, the lovely flavors of orange zest and orange juice, and so many crunchy nuts make up this tasty loaf. Give it a try — you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s a tray of this delicious sweet bread for company.

Everyone loves it when I bring this delicious bread to potlucks, meetings, or special occasion brunches.

If you freeze a few bags of cranberries you can make this throughout the year and not just during the holidays.

Isn’t this yummy looking? I want a bite right now!

Here’s what I did.

I removed a 12-oz. bag of cranberries from the freezer.

Wash and rinse cranberries in colander under running cold water.

Place washed cranberries in a large mixing bowl.

Add chopped nuts.

Grate orange peel on the finest edge of your grater.

Add orange peel to cranberries.

Add a half cup of sugar and stir all ingredients together. Set aside.

Place remaining sugar in mixing bowl.

Add UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour. Bleached flour toughens baked goods.

Add salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Add Crisco shortening. If you prefer add cold butter.

Work shortening or butter into flour mixture with pastry blender until all the shortening or butter has been cut up into small pieces the size of peas.

Here’s what the mixture looks like now. There was so little shortening in this recipe you can hardly tell it’s there.

Add orange juice.

Add orange juice to batter.

Add eggs.

Add cranberry mixture and stir all ingredients together gently with a wooden spoon just until moistened. Don’t overmix the dough.

Here’s what the mixture looks like when stirred.

Spray 4 small miniature bread baking pans with Bakers Joy cooking spray (regular spray may not prevent sticking). Or grease with shortening or butter and flour really well.

Add cranberry dough to pans.

Bake about 60 minutes at 350 or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Here’s a close up of what the bread looks like fresh out of the oven.

Here’s another look. It is really a yummy tasting bread.

Here I’ve sliced down some of the loaf.

This view shows the beautiful cranberries in this bread.

Look at all those cranberries! I increased the amount of the original recipe to using an entire 12-oz. bag. Wow, it’s scrumptious!

Doesn’t this look beautiful?

Here’s a close up of the bread so you can see the texture. You can actually see the orange zest in this piece.

I’ve reserved a couple of pieces for you. Get your hot tea or cocoa and come join me!

We love a good cranberry nut bread. I think you will too.

Bring some of this great bread to holiday parties, special occasion brunches, to your office or Sunday school class and you will have lots of takers wanting this elegant and beautiful dessert bread.

Here’s the recipe.

CRANBERRY FRUIT NUT BREAD

(Recipe inspired from OceanSpray Cranberries)

¾ cup chopped pecans

2 tbsp. freshly grated orange peel

12-oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed

3 cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)

1 ½ cups sugar (divided use)

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. Crisco shortening

1 cup orange juice

2 eggs, well beaten

Wash and rinse cranberries. Place in large bowl. Add nuts, orange peel, and ½ cup sugar. Stir well to combine. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut in shortening with pastry blender. Add orange juice, eggs, and cranberry mixture. Stir with wooden spoon to combine. Spray small loaf pans with Bakers Joy cooking spray, or grease and flour pans well. Bake at 350° for 60 minutes or until knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Makes 4 miniature loaves.

NOTE: Substitute butter if you don’t like using shortening in the recipe.

Doesn’t this bread look superb?

This is a terrific sweet bread and it’s not too difficult to make either.

Here’s another look. Grab a piece and enjoy!

Our family really enjoys this bread and believe you will too.

I’m ready to serve this excellent Cranberry Fruit Nut Bread.

You may also like these recipes:

Cranberry Nut Swirls

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cheesecake Cookies

Cranberry Nut Vanilla Chip Bars

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

Cranberry Lemon Sandwiches

Pecan Cranberry Muffins

Apricot Nut Bread

Healthy Blueberry Banana-Nut Bread

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