Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread

It isn’t a winter holiday without an easy quick bread to gift your sweet neighbor or to snarf down with your morning coffee while watching the snow pile up. Loosely adapted from Marion Cunningham’s lovely spicy pumpkin bread, my 2021 version includes fresh cranberries, less spice, less fat/sugar, (let’s taste those cranberries), and toasted pecans just for grins and giggles. I make my bread using a standing electric mixer, but a wooden spoon works just fine, too. For best taste, cool, wrap, let rest overnight and then slice and serve.

makes two 9x5 loaves

Ingredients

6 tablespoons salted butter softened
½ cup applesauce
15- ounce can puréed pumpkin
2/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
3 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 generous teaspoon each: ground cinnamon and ginger
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen --don't thaw -- cranberries (See notes for subbing dried cranberries.)
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Instructions

GETTING READY: Grease well and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack at center.
MIX THE BATTER: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the softened butter, apple sauce, pumpkin, milk, eggs, and sugar until well-combined at medium-low speed. (If you’re mixing by hand, beat the eggs briefly before adding them.) It’s ok if there are bits of butter visible. On top, measure in the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. Gently stir just those dry ingredients together. Turn the mixer on again to medium-low and mix all until barely combined. Stir in the cranberries and pecans. Divide the mixture between the prepared pans. Shake or thump each pan on the counter to settle and even out the batter, then smooth tops with a rubber spatula.
BAKE 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the middle comes out clean or almost clean. Start checking bread at 45 minutes.
COOL/SERVE: Cool in pans on a rack for 5-10 minutes. Holding both ends of one pan with oven mitts, bang it firmly a couple of times onto a counter or board and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Turn the bread right side up for cooling so the pattern from the rack isn’t embossed into the top of the bread. Repeat with second pan. Cool completely before slicing and serving. (Best served the next day.) Store well-wrapped at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the refrigerator for a week, or double wrap and freeze for 2 months. Thaw completely at room temperature while still wrapped before slicing and serving.

Notes

Cook’s Notes: Add 2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds) to the top of a loaf for fun and crunch. They’re loaded with magnesium to boot. Sub dried cranberries for the fresh by using ¾ cup of dried cranberries that you cover with boiling water and let rest about 10 minutes before draining and adding to the batter. See TIPS in blogpost for ideas about a glaze or icing. No salt for you? Skip it and this bread still tastes just fine.