Cranberry Orange Mini Loaves Recipe

These cranberry orange mini loaves bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes and make 4 to 5 small loaves in pans about 5.5 x 3 inches. The batter is a butter and sour cream quick bread with fresh orange zest and juice and 1½ cups of whole cranberries, finished with a simple orange glaze.

Plan on about 20 minutes of prep. If your cranberries are frozen, add them straight from the freezer so they keep their shape and do not bleed pink through the batter. Glaze the loaves only once they are completely cool.

Mini Loaf Pan Size, Bake Time and Yield

• Yield: 4 to 5 mini loaves
• Pans: mini loaf pans about 5.5 x 3 inches, greased or lined with parchment, filled about ¾ full
• Oven: 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 35 minutes
• Time: 20 minutes prep, about 55 minutes in total plus cooling
• Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons orange juice, sets in 10 to 15 minutes
• Keeps: 3 days at room temperature, or 2 months frozen without the glaze

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Orange, Cranberries and Sour Cream: What Each One Does

One tablespoon of orange zest, from 1 or 2 oranges, carries most of the flavor. The zest holds the orange oils, while the ½ cup of juice adds brightness and moisture. Freshly squeezed juice tastes noticeably fresher than bottled.

The ½ cup of sour cream keeps the crumb tender and moist for days. Plain Greek yogurt works too and gives a slightly firmer, tangier slice. I usually reach for sour cream when the loaves will be eaten within a couple of days, and Greek yogurt when they are going into the freezer.

Fresh or frozen cranberries both work. Their sharp bite is what keeps the sweet glaze in balance. If you have a bag left over, they also go into homemade cranberry sauce or a batch of cranberry orange scones.

Use all-purpose flour. Cake flour makes these small loaves crumbly, and bread flour makes them chewy and dense. Baking powder and baking soda together give a good rise, so measure them level; extra leavening causes holes and a peaked, cracked top. Chopped walnuts are a nice swap for some of the cranberries, but keep the total add-ins close to 1½ cups. This batter does not like to be overloaded.

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From Creamed Butter to Folded Cranberries

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set it aside. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with the sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until it looks pale and fluffy and no longer gritty. I like the butter soft enough to dent with a finger but still cool, so the batter does not turn greasy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the orange zest and juice. The mixture can look a little curdled at this point because of the acid in the juice. That is fine. It comes back together once you mix in the sour cream until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients gradually and stir with a spatula only until no dry flour shows. Overmixing here builds gluten, and that gives tough, tunnelled loaves. Fold in the cranberries last. The batter is thick enough to hold them, but if yours looks loose, toss the berries in a spoonful of the measured flour first so they stay suspended.

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How Long to Bake Mini Cranberry Orange Loaves

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, filling each about three quarters full. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, and start checking at 30, because small pans and darker metal pans bake faster.

They are done when the tops are domed and golden with a crack down the middle, the centre springs back when you press it lightly, and a toothpick from the middle comes out without wet batter. A moist crumb or a smear of red from a cranberry is fine. Wet, shiny batter is not.

Cool them in the pans for 10 minutes, then lift them out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely. A dense, gummy line under the cranberries usually means the loaves came out a few minutes early or were sliced while warm.

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Mini Loaves vs One Big Cranberry Orange Loaf

This batter is about the size of a standard quick bread, so it also fits one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. A single large loaf needs a much longer bake, often close to an hour. Check it from about 50 minutes and tent it with foil if the top browns before the middle is done. For a recipe written for one big loaf, use my cranberry orange bread, which uses slightly different ratios for a richer slice.

Minis win for gifts and parties: they bake in about half the time, every loaf gets a glazed top, and they slice into neat pieces. For the same flavors in grab-and-go form, the cranberry orange muffins bake faster still.

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Orange Glaze Thickness for a Clean Drip

Whisk 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of orange juice, then add more juice a few drops at a time. You want a glaze that falls from the spoon in a slow, thick ribbon. Too thin and it runs off the sides and soaks in. Too thick and it sits in a lump and cracks once set. Stir in ½ teaspoon of zest if your oranges taste mild.

Spoon it down the centre of each cooled loaf and let it find its own way over the edges. Give it 10 to 15 minutes to set before you wrap or stack anything. I prefer orange juice to milk here, since milk dulls the citrus.

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Wrapping, Gifting and Freezing the Loaves

Once the glaze has set, the loaves keep for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container, with a sheet of parchment between layers so they do not stick. For gifts, a cooled, glazed loaf fits in a cellophane bag or wrapped in parchment and tied with string.

To get ahead for December, freeze them unglazed. Wrap each loaf tightly in plastic, then foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped, then glaze on the day you serve or give them.

On a Christmas brunch table they sit well next to cranberry orange cinnamon rolls or a lighter cranberry orange smoothie bowl. For a mixed gift box, add a gingerbread loaf for something spiced next to the citrus.

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Cranberry Orange Mini Loaf Quick Answers

How long do you bake mini loaves of cranberry bread?

Bake mini loaves about 5.5 x 3 inches at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick from the centre comes out without wet batter.

Should I thaw frozen cranberries first?

No. Fold them in frozen. Thawed cranberries are soft and bleed color into the batter.

Can I use dried cranberries?

You can, but the loaves will be sweeter and less tart. Use less, about 1 cup, since dried berries are smaller and denser than fresh ones.

Why did my glaze soak into the bread?

The loaves were still warm or the glaze was too thin. Glaze only fully cooled loaves, and thicken the glaze with a little more powdered sugar.

Pin this recipe to your Christmas baking board, and leave a comment if you bake a batch. I am always happy to help with questions.