coconut cranberry bread // coffee glaze

Every year for as long as I can remember my Aunt Nancy makes Cranberry Bread for Thanksgiving, Christmas + Easter, her cranberry bread is the anchor among the cream cheese filled celery sticks and olives that serve as our pre dinner snack  alongside bowls of "crack your own" nuts and cashews. For 20 years I thought her cranberry bread was homemade......people, I was deceived. Our entire family was deceived, our beloved cranberry bread was from a box. I was heartbroken.

When Paradise Meadow brand by Decas Cranberry Products, Inc reached out to see if I would like to bake with their new Julienne cooking + Baking Cranberries  I jumped at the chance. I thought, move over boxed cranberry bread, there's a new bread in town ready to take over the Holidays.

Cranberries have always played in integral roll in all our holidays. Cranberry bread, cranberry sauce, cranberries in stuffing and salads. If you ever have worked with dried cranberries you know that they can be a bit sticky, honestly they can be down right frustrating. Especially when you are trying to chop up larger dried cranberries into smaller pieces...they just end up one huge ball of cranberry. These little julienne cranberries are a time and lifesaver. They are also pretty awesome in granola bars and trail mix- the perfect little pop of sweetness.

As I may have mentioned in other posts, my family doesn't veer too far off from the traditional holiday dinner. They are not fans of messing with the "normal"- that is where we differ. I like taking the old and putting my own twist on it. I actually posted a preview of this recipe on my Facebook and the first comment was my Gram...I thought, here we go, this could be good or this could be ... well, if you have an opinionated Gram like I do, I don't even need to tell you.....

"looks yummy but without coconut"

My family has a weird aversion to coconut- my Gram, Sister and Mom. 

The new and improved Cranberry Bread is chock full of coconut // sorry not sorry.

Dried Cranberries, walnuts and coconut run throughout every single slice of this bread- and let me tell you , it's heaven.

One of the best things about this bread - the coffee glaze. 

So simple and so good.

Then loaded with more coconut - I'm pretty sure my Family will disown me for ruining "Cranberry Bread" forever for them. But at least they know they will always have the boxed version to fall back on. I don't think they will be asking me anytime soon to be in charge of the Cranberry Bread. My Aunt Jude was taken off Roll Duty for like 10 years for one little mishap and was just recently trusted with the roll duty again. My family takes their Holiday Food assignments very seriously and we aren't afraid to hammer down on you (in a loving way) or let you forget (never ever forget) when you screw it up in the slightest. 

So the moral of this story - make this cranberry bread, make it often - even if your family disproves, 'cause it's that good.

And try making it with Paradise Meadow Julienne Cooking + Baking Cranberries - these are a HUGE time saver and the perfect size for your stuffing and salads that you can sneak them past non cranberry lovers...ahem Justin.

Coconut Cranberry Bread // Coffee Glaze

makes one standard loaf

you will need:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup Paradise Meadow Julienne Cooking + Baking Cranberries

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut + more for sprinkling on top

1/2 cup chopped walnuts + more for sprinkling on top

1 cup of sugar

2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax seed + 6 tbsp warm water) or other vegan egg replacer

2/3 cup almond milk // or other non dairy milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup coconut oil melted

for the Coffee Glaze

1- 2 tbsp cold brew coffee (I used Califia)

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

assembly:

pre heat oven 350*

In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cranberries, coconut and walnuts.

In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, flax eggs, almond milk, vanilla extract and melted coconut oil

Add the wet to dry and stir well. Pour batter into a greased standard  loaf pan.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out with a few moist crumbs attached

Remove from oven, cool for at least 15 minutes prior to drizzling with coffee glaze + shredded coconut 

while the loaf is cooling make the glaze

Place confectioners sugar in a small bowl. 1 tbsp at a time add cold brew coffee and stir well until smooth adding the additional tablespoon of cold brew as needed.

enjoy!