Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

I started making this recipe years ago when my husband was away for training for 6 months and I was constantly looking for new foods to send in his care packages.  The first time that I mailed this bread, my husband requested that it be sent again, and then again.  He and his friends loved this bread and wanted it sent in almost every package.  It became a staple in our home and even now it brings back nostalgic memories for me of a time long ago.  And there is a good reason for its longevity here…it is delicious!  It is an explosion of flavors by including cranberries, pumpkin and orange into each scrumptious slice.  And the best part?  This recipe makes two loaves, so you can keep one for yourself and gift a loaf (although we never share tend to eat it too quickly for that in our home).

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

A wonderful combination of pumpkin, cranberries and orange juice make this delicious bread.

Author: Down Home Inspiration

Recipe type: Bread

Cuisine: American

Serves: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1½ Tbs. pumpkin pie spice
• 1¼ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1¼ cups dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350* Prepare two loaf pans by greasing and flouring them.
2. In a mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, sugar, oil and orange juice. Mix until just blended.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda.
4. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Do not over stir as this will make your bread hard.
5. Fold in the cranberries and pour into loaf pans.
6. Bake 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

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The aromas that will fill your home while you are cooking are almost as yummy as the bread itself!  Try to let the bread cool for 10 minutes or more to allow easier slicing.  It is torture for my husband to wait!  Just look at all of those cranberries!

We actually did share one of our loaves this time, but I wanted to wrap it up nicely and make it look extra pretty.  I decided to pull out the old wax paper trick that I learned as a child, but I wanted it to have a nice fall feel to it.  I sent one of my laborers kids out to the front yard to search for some gorgeous red leaves.  Then I just arranged the leaves between two pieces of wax paper and ironed it for about 30 seconds.  This makes the wax paper stick together and keeps your pretties (in my case the leaves) on the inside.

Now it is all ready to be delivered!   How much would you love to have a friend or neighbor drop this beauty off at your front door?