The only thing better than a friend on your doorstep is a friend on your doorstep bearing homemade baked goods. After all, some of the best gifts (at any time of year!) are those you can eat. That holds true for these tasty, quick mini cranberry bread loaves.
While they’re called loaves, they’re really more like moist, buttery mini-cakes bursting with sweet-tart cranberries, raisins and a hint of cinnamon. A slice topped with a pat of butter is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee and good conversation.
Despite their deliciousness, they’re very easy to make. Just chop the cranberries, mix the dry ingredients, cut in the butter, add rest of the ingredients — and bake it all up as you enjoy the delectable scent wafting through your house.
You’ll wind up with four beautiful little loaves. Once they’re cool, wrap them up for gifts that will always be welcome on any doorstep. Yum.
Mini cranberry bread loaves
Yield 4 mini-loaves
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 cups all-purpose white flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange rind, grated
- 1-1/2 cups golden raisins
- 1 gift bag
- Holiday ribbon
Instructions
- Chop cranberries coarsely by hand.
- Combine and whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and sugar in large bowl.
- Mix butter into flour mixture with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
- Add egg, orange juice and orange rind. Stir until ingredients are combined, but do not overmix.
- Gently stir in cranberries and golden raisins.
- Spoon batter into a greased and floured 4-cup mini-loaf pan.
- Bake at 350F for 20–23 minutes, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Allow bread to cool for 5 minutes.
- Remove bread from pan and place on wire rack to continue cooling for 30 minutes.
- Once cooled, insert in small gift bag, and tie with bow.
Courses Breads
