Persimmon Cranberry Bread

‘Tis the season for bread! Savory, sweet, crusty, crumbly or cakey… Gimme! The women in my family gathered each year for “candy making day”. It was definitely candy making, BUT there was a massive amount of bread going down! I mean a couple hundred five inch loaves. They were machines, I tell you! The classics were pumpkin, zucchini, banana nut and cranberry. I love them all! On this day, I had some very ripe persimmons. There is something special about baking with the naturally sweet, utterly moist pulp of this gorgeous fruit. It makes the end result completely delectable. Since it yields an incredibly sweet result, and since I had some fresh cranberries that needed to be used, I decided to add them to the batter. I was NOT disappointing! What a great flavor combo! The sweet with random bites of tart was TO DIE FOR. If you don’t have persimmons, they could be replaced with pumpkin puree, but I would adjust the sugar by adding a quarter cup.

You will need the following:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground nutmeg (freshly ground if you’ve got it!)
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups persimmon puree
2 cups fresh cranberries
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup Cointreau
the zest and juice of 1/4 of an orange

Directions:

Line the bottom of each bread pan with a piece of parchment paper.
Sift first eight dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly add the butter and eggs, mixing at low speed. Once combined, add puree, orange zest and juice and Cointreau.
Lastly, add the cranberries and mix just until incorporated.
This recipe will make two 9″ loaves or 4 mini loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes for the large loaf or 35-45 for the small. When you touch the top of the loaf it should spring back a bit.

Give it a shot and enjoy it warm I guarantee it won’t last long! Swearing Mom out!