Cranberry Orange Bread

It always seems kind of weird to me that you can only buy fresh cranberries about two months out of the year. Sure, a lot of fruits have certain seasons that they're more accessible, but you can usually find them somewhere year round. Not cranberries though, unless you're okay with frozen. But fresh cranberries are so much better than frozen.
And what goes amazing with cranberry?
Orange.
And what can you get when you mix cranberry and orange?
So much deliciousness, this bread included.
I chose to omit the nuts since I didn't happen to have any on hand, but I'm sure they would be delicious. This bread came out perfectly moist and not too sweet. Although, next time I think I would add just a little bit more orange to compete a more with the cranberries.
Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (50 grams) pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 cup (120 grams) fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon orange zest (outer skin of orange)
4 tablespoons (57 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, well beaten
3/4 cup (180 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the beaten egg with the orange juice and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chopped cranberries and nuts. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and let cool completely before slicing. This bread can be frozen.

Makes one - 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.
Source:Joy of Baking
Photos by Keegan Orange