Orange Cranberry Bread

Am I obsessed with this blog? Only a little bit. Some friends described it today as what sounds like a fun hobby, and I agree completely. :)

There is little my husband loves more than baked goods, thanks to his amazing-in-the-kitchen mom who whips out some truly rockin' food on a regular basis. So when I found a recipe for Orange Bread I thought I'd give it a try. And now Dan officially hearts this bread.

The recipe itself comes from the Simply Recipes blog which I stumbled upon yesterday and now officially follow. You can find the original here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/orange_bread/

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
• I used a margarine without hydrogenated oils
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 Tbsp orange zest
• The original recipe calls for 1 tbsp, but I accidentally made well over 3 and I loved the result
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• I used whole wheat
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• I rounded the teaspoon since we live above 6,000 ft
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Once again, I rounded the teaspoon since we live above 6,000 ft
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• I used 1 rounded cup of plain soy yogurt
• 1/2 cup crasins

Glaze

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon orange juice
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

Beat the butter/margarine on high for 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat on high 2 more minutes. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add orange zest.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together.

Add the yogurt and dry ingredients to the wet ingredients separately 1/3 at a time starting with the yogurt: 1/3 c yogurt, mix; 1/3 dry ingredients, mix; 1/3 yogurt, mix; etc etc. Mix until just combined.

Add the crasins and once again mix until just combined.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake on center rack for 45-50 minutes.

Remove when a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool for a little while.

Mix the glaze ingredients together in a bowl. Btw, the original recipe says that the glaze is optional, but I think it's a must. It adds a nice tangy, sweet punch, so don't skip this step!

Poke holes into the loaf with a toothpick and then pour the glaze over the loaf. Viola! It's done!

The Verdict: A Keeper
This recipe is delicious! It's definitely good enough for Dan to want over and over again, and meets the high standards required in sharing with friends. Enjoy!