Cranberries and Christmas were made for each other! They are inseparable, which is why the winter holidays always includes some type of cranberry crush. This Cranberry Quick with Orange Glaze is 'holly-jolly' bursting with fresh baked cranberries and a tangy orange flavor infusion of love. *Getting that warm and fuzzy feeling*
The vibrant, ruby color of the cranberries are so pretty, especially when you slice into this sweet and tender loaf!
My favorite part, is the tempting orange glaze with the bread. Cranberries and orange are everything when they are together. Add a little rum to the orange glaze to give it a little kick! It is the holidays after all! Heavenly Bliss!
What's cool is, this recipe does not even involve a mixer, just your handy-dandy whisk or wooden spoon and it's super easy to make. Sweet, right?
For the liquid portion, I used almond milk, because our family loves almond milk and we use it for everything unless we are using heavy cream for a specific recipe, but you can use buttermilk or any milk of choice in place if you prefer. Eggnog would also be very good in this loaf, if you want to add a little extra holiday cheer to your loaf.
I also used avocado oil, but you can use any oil of choice, depending what your favorite is, or you can use melted butter for a more buttery flavor. I know canola would be really good, and I love using olive oil!
This bread seems to be very versatile when substituting ingredients. If you are vegan, my choice would be to use ½ cup unsweetened applesauce instead of the egg portion, but if you're vegan, you probably know what you like to use, so just try what you like. Here's a vegan bread that uses flax seeds, that you could add cranberries to, that I think would be really yummy. 
This lovely loaf is perfect for the holidays, gifting, snacking and especially when you have cranberries you want to use and looking for a recipe that lights up your life!
Cranberry Quick Bread with Orange Glaze
Ingredients
- Bread:
- 2 cups all purpose flour + more to toss with cranberries
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup oil of choice or 5 tablespoons butter melted and cooled, I used avocado oil
- 1 egg or ½ cup applesauce for vegan option
- ¾ cup almond milk milk of choice or buttermilk, I used almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
- 2 teaspoons orange zest , or ½ teaspoon orange blossom extract
- Optional: ½ cups walnuts chopped
- Orange Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons orange juice
- Optional: 1 tablespoon Rum
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" x 5" loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment or tin-foil, sprayed and easy for removal of loaf from pan.
- Toss the cranberries with 1 tablespoon of flour, set aside.
- Place flour, baking powder, baking soda and granulated sugar in a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add the oil or butter of choice, egg/applesauce, milk of choice or buttermilk and vanilla to the dry ingredients and whisk together until incorporated, but not over-beating too much.
- Add the coated cranberries and orange zest/orange extract to the bread batter and gently fold in.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
- Run a thin knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the bread. Let the bread cool 10 minutes, then place onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- After the bread is cool, make the glaze.
- Orange Glaze:
- Place powdered sugar and orange juice together in a bowl and stir until smooth and creamy. (Add rum if you wish.) Add more powdered sugar for thicker glaze, more orange juice or milk for thinner glaze as needed. Drizzle the glaze over the bread.
- Let the glaze set before serving.
Thank you so much Gemma! I'm so happy you commented! xo
One of my favorite recipe minus the walnuts. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Valentina! Happy New Year to you as well! xo
Oh how beautiful and delicious! I can't seem to get enough cranberries this year. May they keep coming. 🙂 Happy New Year! 🙂 ~Valentina
Add them in frozen. Hope you enjoy!!
Hi I’m wondering can I add in frozen cranberry or do I defrost first
I'm so happy to hear you tried it vegan style! So awesome! Thank you so much for trying it and making it again here soon. Happy New Year! xo
Made the Cranberry Quick Bread for Christmas dinner. It was a big hit! I loved the contrast of the cranberries and the orange glaze. I did make the vegan version. Who says you can't have vegan dessert that isn't delicious!
I am making it again for a pot luck next week! Thank you!
Thank you so much Davorka! I wish the best for you and your family as well my sweet friend! xo
So many useful tips here Kim ! It great to know there are still two more holidays to celebrate so it's not too late for this one 🙂
i wish you and your loved ones to have happy holidays dear ! xo
Cranberries and oranges go so well together, and this is one of my favourite Christmas combinations. This quick bread sounds delightful, and I wouldn’t mind a few slices, toasted and with butter, during the holiday season. I guess the leftovers (if that could possibly happen) would be wonderful in a bread pudding, too.
Exactly! Thank you so much Katherine!
Cranberries and Christmas are totally meant to be, Kim!!! Bring on all of those jolly little red fruits 🙂 This bread would be a great one to whip up when you have a few people over during the holidays!
The perfect loaf cake for Christmas! Those cranberries are so pretty! Pinning!!
I love cranberries any time of year, but during Christmas they're my FAVORITE! I need to try your bread--it looks perfect!
I'm sort of obsessed with orange+cranberry right now and this bread is calling my name! Looks so amazing! 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you so much! It is delicious! Merry Christmas to you as well! xo
Looks and sounds delicious! Thank you and Merry Christmas!