Cranberry Walnut Bread

Bake this tasty holiday bread in small mini loaves to give as gifts or to freeze for later use. An easy way to determine how much batter you will need for each mini or specialty pan is to fill the baking pan with water all the way to the top, then pour the water into a measuring cup. Check the chart at the bottom of the page to determine how much batter you will need.



1 2/3   cup sugar
2/3     cup vegetable or very light extra virgin olive oil
2        teaspoons vanilla
1/2     milk
2        teaspoons grated orange peel
1/2     teaspoon grated ginger
4        fresh eggs
3        cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour
2        teaspoons baking soda
1        teaspoon sea salt
1/2     teaspoon baking powder
1/2     cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3        cups cranberries, rinsed and cleaned


Move oven rack to low position so that the tops of the pans will be in the center of the oven. Pre-heat over to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bottoms of two 8x4 inch loaf pans with shortening.

In a large glass mixing bowl, mix together sugar, oil, milk, grated orange peel, grated ginger, vanilla and eggs until well mixed. Stir in all other ingredients ( except nuts) and mix. Add chopped nuts and stir into batter.

Pour batter into loaf pans and lightly tap on counter to settle ingredients. Bake loaves for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let loaves cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Learn all about the health benefits of cranberries on our Farm Fresh Living Blog.

All about Ginger: The ginger root is not really a root at all, but a rhizome or underground stem. It’s harvested nearly year-round. The young ginger that is harvested approximately 5 months after planting is used primarily to make candied ginger and ginger syrup. The mature ginger root is used for cooking, spices and teas. The longer that the ginger remains underground before harvest, the hotter and spicier it gets. When purchasing ginger, look for hard, firm rhizomes.

To cook with ginger, peel away the hard skin and then mince, shred or juice as needed. Use ginger in cookies, breads, jams, jellies, sauces or teas. To make a quick and healthy ginger tea, boil a section of peeled root, strain and then add honey and lemon to taste.