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Baking and fall go hand-in-hand. In keeping with my love for seasonally on-point recipes, my most recent baking project was this moist and flavorful apple cranberry bread. I confess that one motivation for baking apple cranberry bread is that my kitchen smells absolutely amazing, no candle required. I love the tartness of the cranberries against the sweetness of the apple, and I love that I can see the beautiful chunks of fruit floating in a sea of savory spiced bread. It’s so good!
Apple cranberry bread is a delicious way to taste all that autumn has to offer. Listen, I know that apple cranberry bread isn’t revolutionary or rocket science, but it’s comforting and sweet and those are two ingredients I’m looking forward to these days. The most important choice here is what apple varietal to use. I like to use a Fuji or Gala apple and I like to keep the skins on the apples. Cranberries are crown-jewel-colored red and they’ve got that distinctively tart cranberry flavor. And, when I feel so inclined, I might also add in some chopped walnuts, but this time, I’ve left them out of the mix.
Rather than going with a powdered sugar glaze, I let the sugar itself be the star of the show. I generously dust the top of the loaf with powdered sugar and a little bit of cinnamon, just for a little savory spice to the sweetness of the sugar.
Just look at this beauty! I love to bake especially recipes as simple and delicious as this amazing apple cranberry bread. My kids love to have a slice of apple cranberry bread (with a glass of milk) after school as they finish homework. Moist, sweet, and with the right amount of warmth from the ginger and cinnamon spice, this apple cranberry bread is just what I needed to pay homage to the fall season.
Spiced Apple Cranberry Bread
Yield(s): 8-10
30m prep time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup apple sauce
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup apple (Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji), diced small
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
Topping:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the dry mixture in a separate cup and set aside.
- In a separate, larger bowl, whisk the applesauce, oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
- Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring until well blended.
- Toss the diced apple and cranberries in the lemon juice and the reserved flour mixture. Fold the fruits into the batter until evenly incorporated.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the baking dish to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Sift powdered sugar and cinnamon over the top of the loaf before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Celebrating Sweets.