Last Christmas, we thought that rather than email a family photo, let’s give something our family and friends something they could use long after the emailed Christmas family photo is deleted or archived away. So, we created the Holt Family Cookbook.
It’s a collection of 29 recipes that through the years have grown to taste like memories. The cookbook contains some of our favorite dishes, both the family treasures and the more recent recipes found along our own journey.
Today, we’d like to introduce to the rest of world our cookbook…one recipe at a time. Each week we’ll post a new recipe from the book. When we’re done with all the recipes, we’ll post the complete PDF for everyone to enjoy. We give credit where credit is due, unless no source is known.
Let’s start with Brett’s all-time favorite bread/dessert that no one can make better than his wife!
Cranberry Walnut Bread
Source: The Book Sale Cookbook
Yield: 2 Loaves
Ingredients
½ cup sugar
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
Grated zest of 4 oranges or 4 tsp orange peel (Penzeys Spices)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour or 2 1/3 cups
Bob’s Red Mill GF all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream (I have also used plain yogurt)
1 12-once bag (about 2 ½ cups) cranberries
2 cups coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5x 3 inch loaf pans.
2. Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar and orange zest in the bowl fitted with a paddle and spin/mix for 5 minutes.
3. Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, and butter and mix until it resembles sand. Remove ½ cup and set aside.
4. Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.
5. Add the eggs and sour cream and mix just to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gently fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Smooth the tops down and sprinkle with the reserved sugar mixture. Transfer to the oven and bake until a toothpick comes out
almost clean, about 45 minutes.
Notes
To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 300° F. On a rimmed cookie sheet, spread the nuts in a single layer. Bake until the nuts are lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool
completely before using.
Have you tried this recipe before? Do you have any variations on it? Let us know.
