While it’s cold enough outside for a few more months, I’m planning on doing a lot more baking and using up precious oven time while I can. The heat of the summer (and sometimes spring) often keeps from being able to comfortably bake anything. At all. Ever. To keep on theme with the Holidays, I thought I would whip up a festive bread for breakfast this morning.

This Cranberry Orange Bread is loaded with flavor, the freshness of the orange and the tartness of the cranberry pair well with the sweetness of the bread. Plus, it’s pretty easy to toss together in the morning and bakes for a good amount of hands off time.

I made this bread a little more health conscious by using a whole wheat white flour instead of all-purpose. I also substituted in some natural sugar substitute in place of a great deal of the sugar. Other than that, this bread is pretty standard when it comes to a breakfast or dessert bread.

This bread would make a great homemade gift for friends or family. It would be easy to make this bread into a few mini loaves that could be wrapped and used as stocking stuffers! (Of course that would reduce the baking time - so be mindful of that if you make smaller loaves!)

Make this bread up ahead for time to have on hand for Christmas morning or even New Years.

I served mine with some fresh berries and coffee for breakfast this morning and it was a big hit!

Step-by-Step Photos:

Nutritional Claims: Low Potassium • Kidney Friendly • Vegetarian • Pescatarian • Dairy Free • Milk Free • Peanut Free • Soy Free • Fish Free • Shellfish Free • Pork Free • Red Meat Free • Crustacean Free • Celery Free • Mustard Free • Sesame Free • Lupine Free • Mollusk Free • Alcohol Free • Kosher