White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Bread

The nice thing about quick breads is that they walk a very fine line between bread and cake. You can eat them for breakfast or dessert, or just an anytime snack, and with one as festive and delicious as this one, that’s really good news. This easy bread is sweet and moist and studded with white chocolate, tart cranberries and some bright orange flavor. It’s a great combination any time of year but it especially warms things up during the winter season.

The batter involves all the usual baking suspects (flour and sugar and whatnot) but it also has orange juice and orange zest, whole cranberries, and white chocolate chips tucked into it. And like any good quick bread, it all comes together in one bowl.

It’s such a flavorful bread that you don’t need to spread anything on it at all – the balance of sweet and tart and citrus is really all you need.

I’ve found that this bread is pretty much universally loved, so it’s a great bread to give as a gift. (It’s leaps and bounds above a fruitcake if you’re asking me.) It freezes well too, so there’s really no reason not to make a double batch. Happy baking!

White Chocolate Cranberry Orange Bread

1 hour 10 minutes to prepare 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup orange juice
  • Zest from one orange
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Add orange juice, zest, butter, and egg and beat with an electric mixer on low until well combined. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate.
  4. Spread batter into loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from ABCs and Garden Peas.

Whizzco for LPE