Banana Cranberry Bread

My Dad came to visit Logan last month. He really enjoys my banana breads and is up for anything with cranberries in it. So I decided to make this Banana Cranberry Bread while he was here. It was perfect timing--he could enjoy the bread and give Logan the attention he inevitably decides he needs as soon as I pull out any ingredients. (That little boy doesn't yet understand that it's a good thing when Mommy is busy in the kitchen.) Besides the fact that this banana bread required only 2 bowls, a whisk and a spatula to make, I had all the ingredients in the pantry and thought the combination of banana and cranberry would be super tasty, even though I'd never paired the two flavors before. It's definitely a winner and I think I'll be making this again. The cranberries offer a tartness to the sweet banana and the baking spice offers just a touch of comfort to bring it all together in a tender bread.

Remember the cinnamon swirl bread and cranberry upside down bread I made recently? Well, this recipe came from that same Food Network Magazine 50 Quick Breads booklet. Seriously, I may just make all 50 of those breads! It took me longer to pull out the ingredients and put them away than it did to actually make this batter. I had some ripe banana in the freezer, so I just microwaved them for about a minute and the fruit just slid out of the skin and was mostly mashed right from the start. Instead of yogurt, I used sour cream, subbed baking spice for cinnamon and nutmeg, and I baked the bread in an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan. The result was a high peak with a beautiful golden brown crust. I'm in love with this flavor combo and hope you'll enjoy trying it out too.

Banana Cranberry Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoons baking spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cranberries, baking spice, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, whisk together banana, oil, sour cream, eggs and vanilla.

Stir flour mixture into the banana mixture until incorporated.

Transfer batter to a greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-65 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, top is set and golden brown. Remove from oven a let cool on wire rack for an hour before removing from pan.

Slice and serve.

Makes 1 loaf.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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