There’s something magical about the scent of cranberry orange bread baking in your oven. For me, it invokes the holidays with a certain freshness as well as a bit of decadence – tart cranberries, zesty orange, and just the right hint of sweetness. It’s like a warm, cozy sweater for your tastebuds!

This is the perfect bread for holiday brunches, gifting to neighbors, or sneaking a slice (or two) with your morning coffee or tea (no judgment here!)

Not only are cranberries delicious, but they are little powerhouses of goodness! Packed with antioxidants, they can help free radicals, support urinary health, and give your immune system a little boost – how awesome is that!

To make this recipe vegan, you could swap Flax Eggs for the two beaten eggs. I have not tried vegan butter for the streusel topping; you could try that, or you could skip the streusel and just top the loaf with Sparkling Sugar.

Cranberry Orange Bread

Ingredients

For the Bread:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar + 2 T (divided)
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped

White Streusel Topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• dash salt
• 1 stick butter (8 T), softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and 1/2 cup of sugar). Stir well and set aside.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add applesauce, orange juice, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the coarsely chopped cranberries with 2 T of sugar. Set aside.

Prepare the streusel topping, if using: Combine all streusel ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, butter, and vanilla) in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix for about 2-3 minutes – at first the mixture will look sandy with fine crumbs, but keep going until you get big clumps. Set aside.

Now make the batter: Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the medium bowl of wet ingredients all at once; stir just to combine. (note: if batter seems too dry, you can add a little more orange juice – one tablespoon at a time – until it is the consistency of a cake batter). Fold in the sweetened cranberries.

Pour the batter into the greased pan. Top with the streusel topping, pressing the clumps together a little bit – it should completely cover the top of the loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. If the topping is browning, cover loosely with foil. Bake another 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and place on a rack to cool completely.

Makes one loaf.