June 7: Orange Cranberry-Nut Bread

I made this yesterday - Saturday - the perfect day to make something special for breakfast. The recipe calls for a 3-quart Crock Pot, which I don't have, so I baked this in the oven. Supposedly, you cook it for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours on high.

I started this yesterday morning at about 8:30 or 9:00. I gathered up these ingredients:

In a medium bowl, I combined 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 cup chopped pecans:

In a large bow, I put 1 cup dried cranberries, 2 tsp. dried orange peel, and 2/3 c. boiling water:

Then I added 3/4 c. sugar, 2 tbsp. shortening, and an egg:

After I stirred in the dry ingredients, I spread the batter into a greased loaf pan:

I baked it at 350 for about 35 minutes maybe (I kept having to put it back in because it was still doughy. I wasn't sure how long to bake it):

I served it warm with homemade butter:

I couldn't believe how delicious this bread was. It wasn't too sweet, but the nuts and cranberries were the perfect consistency and the orange gave it an incredible depth of flavor. Everyone wanted seconds! I will definitely make this again as maybe a once-a-year treat!