Holiday Breads

So, I know that this is a bit late, but on my holiday travel, I wanted to make pumpkin gingerbread, but who knew that there was a canned pumpkin shortage? So I went with my back-up bread. Cranberry-Zucchini Bread. This is from my time in Brooklyn where I fell in love with this muffin at Cousin John's (oh I remember many a coffee run there from the Food Coop).

So here is my recipe (inspiration from Rose Levy's Zucchini Muffins from The Cake Bible)

Cranberry Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup safflower
2 cups (firmly packed) grated zucchini--use largest holes on box grater
1 cup cranberries (soaked in orange juice)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices. Whisk well to blend.

3. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar and oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until very smooth. Add the zucchini and beat just until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and cranberries and beat until completely moistened.

4. Scrape the batter into greased and floured loaf pans, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Unmold onto the rack. Cool completely and wrap airtight. Makes 4 small loafs or two large loafs.