Cranberry Orange Quick Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze

This is the third quick bread that I have created recently. For some reason, it took me four tires to get it right. The first time, I think I used too much leavening because it rose QUICKLY and then collapsed. The second time, I used too much liquid. That one sort of reminded me of bread pudding, if bread pudding was terrible. The third time, I do not know what in the Hades I did, and we won’t talk of it anymore.

Fourth time was magic.  The texture of the Cranberry Orange Quick Bread was dense and moist. The bread itself was sweet, but not too sweet, and the presentation was wonderful. The bread was so pretty, with a toasty orangeness speckled with deep red cranberries. I made two more of these!

You can use bottled orange juice and skip the fresh zest if you want, but don’t be like that.  I added a Cream Cheese Glaze. The bread itself is sweet enough that it does not need it, but it is pretty and frosting, who doesn’t want pretty? Frosting? This makes waaaay more than you will need. Make another loaf of bread.

 Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

•  Servings:  1 loaf
• Time:  Prep: 15 minutes, cooking: 55-60 minutes, cooling time one hour
• Hardware:  Measuring cups and spoons, microwave proof bowl,2 mixing bowls, a mixer, a large wooden spoon, a zester and a citrus juicer (optional,) silicone spatula, a 2- 9x 5 loaf pan, a wooden skewer, and a wire cooling rack

 Ingredients

• 
  2 cups flour
• ¾  cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¾  teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ cup dried craisins
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup  milk
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• ½ cup (one stick) unsalted butter
• Butter and or Crisco and flour for the pan

1. Place a rack at the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt the butter right away to give it time to cool. Grease and flour the loaf pan. It is always better to over grease and flour than under. Zest and juice the orange if you are using fresh juice. Set aside.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and craisins in one of the mixing bowls.
3. Beat the eggs in the other mixing bowl. Then add the milk, orange juice, vanilla and orange zest. Beat until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry  ingredients. Then add the melted butter. Use the wooden spoon to mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
5. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread  it out evenly.
6. Bake, turning the pan halfway through,  for 50-60 minutes or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

  Cream Cheese Glaze

• Time:  Prep: 5 minutes
• Hardware:  Mixer, mixing bowl, measuring spoons and cups

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of room temperature cream cheese
• ½  cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-4 tablespoons of milk

1. Beat the cream cheese until it is smooth. Beat in the sugar and extract. Add milk a tablespoon at  a time until you get the desired consistency. Drizzle over the cooled bread right before serving