Cranberry Pecan Bread

Sweet, moist quick bread full of dried cranberries and pecans. This cranberry pecan bread with white chocolate glaze would make a great hostess gift.

Cranberry Pecan Bread

If there’s one person I love to impress with my baking, it’s my hubby. He walks in the door from work and immediately looks to the top of the fridge. Why? Because that’s where I place any of our freshly baked goodies. At first I thought it was a hiding place, but Matt is a lot taller than I am, so it’s totally in his line of sight.  The day he came home and found this cranberry pecan bread wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, his first question was, “Is this fair game?” Yes, the recipe had been tested, perfected and photographed. It was fair game.

He immediately fell in love with the heartiness of this bread. Dried cranberries, pecans (he loves chopped nuts in his breads!), all with a white chocolate glaze on top.  He even loved it more than our gingerbread loaf.

This was one of those recipes that after sampling it, we had to give it away or else it wouldn’t have made it through the evening and our bellies would’ve been hurting from our gluttony.

Quick Bread with Buttermilk

This is really a straightforward quick bread recipe here. It calls for buttermilk, which for one, just give the bread more of an old-fashioned taste. And 2…it makes the bread lighter and more moist.

Substitute for Buttermilk

If you are like me and don’t keep buttermilk on hand, you’ll need an easy substitute for buttermilk. Here’s how you can make your own buttermilk. Take a 1-cup measuring cup and put a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in the bottom. Then fill the rest of the cup with milk. I prefer using whole milk in baking, so would use whole milk to make buttermilk. Use the highest fat milk you have to get the best tasting buttermilk.

Make White Chocolate Glaze

As with other breads, don’t overmix the batter.  And for the white chocolate glaze, place the white chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the chips for 20 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 20 seconds. As soon as the chips start melting, start microwaving for 10 second intervals (being careful not to burn it!) until you have a thick, melted chocolate that you can spoon onto the top of the bread. It’s going to be thick and you’ll have to work fast while it’s hot. But this little extra step is what puts this bread over-the-top good.

That’s really all you need to know to make this delicious quick bread. Serve it Christmas morning, give it as a gift to a neighbor, friend, or someone who’s throwing a party that you’ll attend. It makes such a pretty presentation!

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5 from 4 votes

Cranberry Pecan Bread

Sweet, moist quick bread full of dried cranberries and pecans. This cranberry pecan bread with white chocolate glaze would make a great hostess gift.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword christmas bread, cranberry bread, easy quick bread, glazed bread, pecan bread

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 10

Calories 447kcal

Author Lizzy T

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans for sprinkling on top of the bread

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5x3" bread pan.
• In a mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Beat just until blended after each addition.
• Fold in the pecans and cranberries.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it and place it on a wire rack to cool.
• For the white chocolate glaze, place the white chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the chips for 20 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 20 seconds. As soon as the chips start melting, start microwaving for 10 or even 5 second intervals. Be careful not to let it get too hot or it will burn. Be patient and stir between each time interval. You will end up with very thick, melted white chocolate. Spoon or drizzle this on top of the bread. Sprinkle with the extra pecans, if desired.

Video

Notes

The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 10 slices, with 1 serving being 1 slice. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.

Nutrition

Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 364mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 425IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 1.6mg