Cranberry-Orange Bread

Happy holidays! :o) I just had to take a quick study break, because it's almost Christmas, and I've only baked one holiday goody! (You know those brownies on the back of the York Peppermint Patty bag? Well, you don't have to do all that. Just make your favorite brownie recipe--I won't tell if it's from a box. Put 1/2 of the batter in the pan, then put a layer of patties leaving a 1 inch border around the edge of the pan. Cover them with the rest of your batter and bake as normal! Yum!) What's the most appropriate baked good for a quick break? Quick bread of course! Don't get me wrong, I love all the peppermint/chocolate and spicy/molasses/brown sugar holiday flavors, but sometimes I need a break. This is a little bit tart, bright and fresh, but still very seasonal! (Am I the only one who finds it ironic that citrus season is in the dead of winter?)

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter (one stick)
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 juicing orange (they don't have as many seeds)
  
• 1 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
  
• 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F). Put the sugar and butter in a mixing bowl. Use the butter wrapper to grease a 9-inch loaf pan. Cream your butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add your eggs, and incorporate them completely.

I use the same two-cup measuring cup for nearly all the measuring in this recipe. First I zest the orange into the cup. Then I cut the orange in half and use a fork to get all the juice and a good amount of the pulp out. You don't want pith, or chewy skins...you're going for the pulpiest orange juice you've ever seen. Then add the cranberries into the cup until it reaches the 1 1/2 cup mark. (This should take about 1 cup of cranberries. If you don't actually like fresh cranberries, try substituting them with 1/2 a cup of the the dried ones. They have sugar added, and are a little sweeter.) Dump that into the big bowl, add the buttermilk and mix it up on low with the electric mixer.

Then put 1 1/2 cups of flour in the measuring cup, add the baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix that up so the dry ingredients are evenly distributed. (I just use the measuring spoon to stir it.) Put that in the big bowl, then add the other 1/2 cup flour and mix it up with the electric mixer, on low again.

Now that the flour is out, you can dust your buttered loaf pan really quickly before putting the batter in the pan. Smooth the batter out a little, and then bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When it's done, cool in the pan for 10 minutes before cooling it the rest of the way on the cooling rack. If you slice it too soon, it will crumble, so really be patient, okay? Give it at least 30 minutes.

This is exactly what Christmas Eve is going to be like in my apartment.

I feel like I cheated. That's not really a song, so have this too: