Cranberry Orange Nut Bread

• Cranberries are an American native fruit and a favorite seasonal ingredient found in traditional holiday recipes. They were also a Native American staple. The berry helped Indians and colonists survive.
• The nutritional power of the fruit cranberries are extremely high in antioxidants and are thought to help prevent heart disease. Iroquois and Chippewa used cranberries for an assortment of medicinal purposes.
  

Cranberry Orange Nut Bread a great loaf for fall and early winter since cranberries, oranges, and walnuts are plentiful and in season. Buy an orange and squeeze it fresh to get the best juice for this recipe (grate the peel first). You can easily prep the cranberries by pulsing them a few times in the food processor, or manually cut them in half first. I used frozen ones so easier to cut. 

I loved the cinnamony taste, with bursts of tart, tangy cranberries with the added crunch of walnuts. 
Recipe inspired by onceuponachef.com and makes one 9 x 5-inch loaf (about 10 slices)
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tsp. grated orange zest, from one orange
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 6 TB. butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. Saigon cinnamon or 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped coarse
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom of 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, orange zest, buttermilk, butter and egg. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Stir liquid ingredients into dry with rubber spatula until just moistened. Gently stir in cranberries and nuts. Do not overmix.
• Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.
• Cool loaf in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool at least one hour before serving.