Apple Cranberry Bread

My grandmother's Apple Bread is my favorite quick bread recipe.  It's simple, fast and scrumptious. It freezes well and makes a wonderful hostess gift, teacher gift or holiday gift.  Can you tell I love this bread?  Even though it's wonderful on it's own I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like with cranberries added for the holidays.  I'm so glad I did.  The sweetness of the apples and bread with the tartness of the cranberries goes perfectly together. 

Here's what you will need:
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 cups chopped baking apples*
1 cup whole fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

*I prefer breaburn apples but granny smith work well too.  

First place your oven rack on the lowest rung, then preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two loaf pans.  

Mix the oil and sugar together until well incorporated, then stir in the vanilla and eggs. 

Stir together the dry ingredients, flour, salt, soda and cinnamon.  Then add them to the wet ingredients. Once they are combined fold in the apples, cranberries.  The dough might be a little stiff now so if you need to use your hands to mix it I won't tell anybody.  Don't worry the dough is supposed to be this way.  The apples and cranberries add a lot of moisture when cooked. 

Last but not least kind of slop the dough evenly into the two loaf pans (because there's no pouring this stuff). Then cook for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Something magical happens when this bread is in the oven.  I'm not a professional chef so I'll have to assume it's magic, when the top becomes crispy, crackly and so yummy.  This bread is good the first day when it's warm but gets even better the second day.  When the moisture from the apples continues to absorb into the bread making it impossibly moist.  This bread also freezes well but I recommend doing so within the first day before it becomes really moist. Enjoy.

Download recipe here