Apple Cranberry Bread – A cinnamon spiced quick bread filled with apples and fresh cranberries and topped with a pecan streusel.
I’m giddy with excitement because my favorite time of year is here – HOLIDAY BAKING SEASON! I have been training for this; it’s like the Olympics for me. Ha!
In all seriousness, I really do love this time of year. The weather is cool, the house feels cozy, bathing suit season is over, and New Year’s resolutions haven’t yet begun (woohoo)! It really is the most wonderful time of the year.
I’ve already been baking up a storm this holiday season. We’ve had Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie Bars, Pumpkin Carrot Cake, Cranberry Bars, and Apple French Toast.
Apple Cranberry Bread
This recipe is for a quick bread. It closely straddles the line between bread and cake (and what a delicious line that is). It’s cozy and comforting and filled with fall and winter flavors.
The bread is sweet and lightly spiced and it’s filled with diced apples and fresh cranberries. The loaf is topped with a brown sugar pecan streusel, which adds the perfect finishing touch. I absolutely love the contrasting textures between the tender bread and the crunchy, buttery streusel.
I should not be left alone with a loaf of this bread because there’s a good chance I will pick every last bit of streusel off the whole loaf. If anyone in my family asks I’ll just act like I forgot to put the streusel on. Sshhhh. 😉
If you have any other holiday baking inspiration, send it my way. I’m already daydreaming about what should come next. Maybe a batch of Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins?
MORE QUICK BREAD RECIPES: EASY BANANA BREAD – BANANA NUT MUFFINS – CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD – PUMPKIN MUFFINS – APPLE BREAD – CINNAMON BREAD
BAKE SMARTER, NOT HARDER
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Recipe
Apple Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
Bread:
- ⅓ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ¼ cup applesauce
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup finely chopped apple, I left the skin on
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, I halved the larger berries
Topping:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
Bread:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk oil, applesauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside ¼ cup of the dry ingredients. Add the remaining dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a spoon or rubber spatula until almost completely combined.
- Toss the apples and cranberries with the reserved ¼ cup flour, then add to the batter. Stir carefully until fully combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Topping:
- Stir together all topping ingredients until well combined. Crumble the topping over the batter.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!This post originally appeared on Julie’s Eats & Treats where I am a contributor.
scott sproat says
can you add spices to it? what kind, and will it change the taste alot.
Allison says
There is already cinnamon in the recipe. You could try adding 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger if you’d like.
Joan Caivano says
I’d like to try this recipe for holiday gifts. If you were to put the batter into small (3-1/2″ x 6″) loaf pans instead, how much would you reduce the cooking time? Thank you!
Allison says
I’m not quite sure. I’d start checking it around 25 minutes and go from there. Enjoy!
Teri says
I made this recipe with muffin tins and they turned out great. I brought them to work and everyone loved them. 💗
Oyster Pearl says
Delicious and beautiful!!
All approved.
I used craisins and substituted some cranberries (craisins) for more apples.
I didn’t have cinnamon but pumpkin spice tasted wonderful in it. I also added a little lemon juice because I love it!
Allison says
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Meredith says
absolutely perfect!
Allison Mattina says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Amy says
I came upon this recipe when I was looking for an apple and cranberry baking recipe and decided this was so much easier than the bundt cake recipe I was originally looking at. I am so glad I made this, it was one of the best quick breads I have made! I didn’t have applesauce so I used pumpkin instead. Also, my husband (sadly) doesn’t like nuts so I used oatmeal instead of the pecans. The first loaf didn’t last long so I made a second and it’s in the oven now!
Allison Mattina says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Kendell K says
Can you use this battery for muffins & if so, what is the recommended cook time?
Allison Mattina says
Hi! Sure! I’d start checking them around 15 minutes.