Glazed Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread screams fall and all the holidays! This bread is so rich and moist with sweet pumpkin and tangy cranberry flavors. The glazing on the bread adds a luscious flavor that melts in your mouth. Recipe is low in fat, nutritious and yummy too! One of our family favorites!

Glazed Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Yield: One large loaf (or 3 mini loaves)

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour (can substitute gluten free rice flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup sugar
½ cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
Optional: ½ cup pecans, chopped

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 – 3 tablespoons half & half or milk

Equipment Needed:

Stand up mixer or hand mixer
Small bowl
Wire whisk
Liquid measuring cup
Dry measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Rubber spatula
Waxed or parchment paper
Loaf pan, 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch or 4 – mini pans
Small mixing bowl
Small wire whisk
Aluminum foil, for storage

Preheat oven to 350 F.

This is the bread my mom made every fall and Thanksgiving that I can remember! She would make numerous small loaves and hand them out to all the neighbors. My daughter’s favorite baked good too! I recently went looking for the recipe and found it on an old, dried out, plastic Ocean Spray cranberry wrapper tucked away in an old cookbook. Who knows how old it was, but still makes a yummy bread. My mom started glazing it which made it even better… if that was possible! I made this recipe to take to Seattle, and decided it was a must for the blog… everyone needs to make it and so easy too! This bread can easily be made using gluten free rice flour too. It also has only a half cup of oil, so is relatively low in fat as well. Such a nutritious, moist bread to serve at a brunch or to give to friends. Gather your supplies and let’s bake!

This bread is a quick bread, so of course involves combining dry and moist ingredients. To make the process easier, combine the flour, leavening agents and spices in a medium mixing bowl and stir well with a wire whisk. Set these dry ingredients aside.

Place the wet ingredients in the bottom of the mixing bowl… Eggs, pumpkin, sugar and oil. Blend at medium speed for about 2 minutes until smooth. Add dry ingredients and continue mixing at medium speed for one minute. Scrape down sides and mix for about another 30 seconds. The mixture should be thick with a smooth, shiny orange color.

Place cranberries on a cutting board and use a sharp chef knife to carefully rough chop the berries. Cranberries will want to shoot all over as you chop, so the slower you chop the easier it will be. Each cranberry needs to be at least cut in half. You don’t need to cut them exactly! Add them to the pumpkin batter and fold in by hand using a rubber spatula. Don’t over mix, just blended together is what you want. If adding nuts, add with the cranberries.

Spray your loaf pan(s) with vegetable spray and line with waxed or parchment paper cut to the size of the bottom of the pan. Lining the pans will help remove the breads after baking without sticking to the pan bottom. Spread batter evenly in pan. Place bread in the middle of the center rack of a preheated 350 F oven. If using mini loaf pans, give 2 – 3 inches between pans on the oven rack for heat and air movement = even baking. Bake large loaf for 75 – 85 minutes or until top of bread springs back when pressed with your finger.

Place powdered sugar, vanilla and half of the milk in small mixing bowl. Using a small wire whisk, stir until blended, adding additions of milk until a thick glaze forms. Glaze should barely run off whisk when lifted out of bowl. Adjust consistency with additions of extra powdered sugar or milk.

Cool breads for about 10 minutes in pans. Cut pieces of foil large enough to wrap breads. Remove breads from pan and set on cut foil. Drizzle glaze over breads, zigzagging to coat as shown above. Allow glazed breads to set unwrapped until glaze hardens.

Slice and serve or loosely wrap for storage… Enjoy!