Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

I got this recipe from an old coworker. I've been making this for the past 7 or 8 years. My coworker was diabetic so her recipe indicated Splenda as the sweetener. I've taken the liberty to use regular sugar instead. She also used fresh cranberries. I've tried fresh and frozen cranberries. They are a little too tart for me and I don't like the mushy berries in my bread. I found unsweetened sun-dried cranberries at Whole Foods and have been using it in many of my recipes. The bread is such a beautiful color. I usually make this during the fall but I just bought five cans of pumpkin. They were on sale.

A few years ago, for Thanksgiving, I decided to make a few loaves. I baked them the night before because I knew I wouldn't have enough oven room. My girl friends came over to hang out and they started picking at one of the freshly baked loaves. Before they even realized it, the two of them had eaten an entire loaf. They then decided to start working on a second loaf. I think I quadrupled the recipe that year.

Last Thanksgiving my friend emailed me for the recipe. She wanted to make it for Thanksgiving because my other friend asked her to make it. My grandmother also loves the stuff. My grandmother is pretty hip. She sometimes takes my grandfather to Jack In the Box for a Jumbo Jack. Every now and then I will bake several loaves and mail it to my friends and family. It costs an arm and a leg to mail. Care packages usually do.

yields two 9x5 loaves

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups granulated sugar (use slightly less than 2 cups)
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (do not use pumpkin pie mix)
4 large eggs
¾ cup canola oil (I reduced to ½ cup)
½ cup orange juice
¾ cup unsweetened sun-dried cranberries
¾ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

Soak cranberries in orange juice and microwave for one minute. Let cranberries soak until plump.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs and oil in another large bowl; mix until blending. Add pumpkin mixture and orange juice/cranberries to flour mixture; carefully stir until moistened. Gently fold in the nuts. Divide batter between two loaf pans.

Bake about 1 hour or until wooden skewer inserted comes out clean.

They can also be baked in small bundt pans.