I just stepped into my kitchen, turned on the light and was greeted by a massive amount of dirty dishes… not to mention a random stick of butter I left out this morning.
I walked across the way to the dining room table to find all of the half addressed holiday cards I have yet to send.
I shouldn’t even mention the atrocious pile of laundry that I’ve managed to ignore for weeks.
But all is well. All is juuuuust fine. Why? Because I’ve got my little nativity scene up. My Christmas lights are twinkling. I’ve hung silver snowflakes from my windows with scotch tape, and there are cranberry smells coming out of my kitchen. At this rate, I can ignore the household atrocities well into the new year.
Tart, fresh cranberries meet honey sweetened cornbread. Throw in some walnuts, throw in a loaf pan or two… you’ve got one lovely, dense, lightly crunchy quick bread. Great for breakfast. Super for gift giving. Wrap it up. Freeze it up. Butter it up. This bread is simple and comfortable.
Thank you Anna for the gorgeous Wisconsin honey! You’re a dream!
Honey Cranberry Cornmeal Quick Bread
recipe adapted from Epucurious.com
makes one large 9x5x3 loaf or two smaller loaves
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1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour (if you don’t have whole wheat flour, just use all-purpose flour)
1 cup medium or fine ground cornmeal (I used white cornmeal)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup honey (or pure maple syrup if you have it on hand)
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (reserving a few whole walnut halves for decorating the top)
1 heaping cup to 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour one 9x5x3-inch loaf pan, or two slightly smaller loaf pans. I think mine are 8x4x3-inches and I made two smaller loaves. Set aside the greased and floured loaf pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder.
In a smaller bowl whisk together honey, eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract.
Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until blended.
Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
Divide batter between two smaller loaf pans or into one large loaf pan. Spread evenly. Add the whole walnut halves and place in preheated oven. For smaller loaves bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes of clean. For the larger loaf, bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool loaves in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert onto a plate or board. Serve warm with butter or wrap and freeze for future you.
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
I love cranberries, they are tasty but not too sticky and sweet!
Thank you for everything Joy!
Hey Joy! I heart your blog, it cheers me up and makes me wish I was a dab hand in the kitchen.
I love the wooden prop you’ve used in these pictures. So pretty!
I had no idea you could make a cornmeal quick break. Sounds awesome!
buttermiilk makes everything lovely! this loaf looks very tempting!!
this sounds divine and it looks so lovely so it’s perfect for gift giving!
oh honey! oh maple syrup! i will just have to try these babies both ways…thanks for this great post. :)
joy, wishing you an awesome 2010 & looking forward to baking with you in the new year!
bee-yoo-tiful loaf of bread!
Wow, I thought you’d woken up in MY house! This recipe sounds great.
The cornmeal I bet adds nice texture. I plan to try this recipe with the addition of bit of orange zest.
This sounds and LOOKS sooo amazing! Great quick bread for Christmas morning!
Oh I ignore my househould atrocities all throughout the year!
Your bread looks so moist and beautiful – those cranberries add such a lovely color.
Me encanta tu Blog.Rica esta receta.Un beso grande
Crap I don’t have time to make this before we head out of town but I just have to find a way… it sounds amazing! (and I love the second and third pictures – with those fresh cranberries glistening)
Lovely! And I just so happen to have extra cranberries and about a metric ton of cornmeal in the freezer. Bookmarking!
I think you might have accidentally walked through MY kitchen this morning. That whole first part of your post today is all too familiar. :) And this recipe sounds fabulous!
Looks yummy! Unfortunately, I have to get through my pile of dishes before I can start baking anything!
Oh thank you thank you! This solves two problems: 1) what to do with some cranberries that are waiting patiently for me and 2) what to bring to Christmas!
I just want to say, you are such a delight! In an imaginary world, I can imagine us getting on splendidly… and how could you not with someone who bakes like you do. Anyways, I thought ’tis the holiday season and a time to spread Christmas cheer. And right on with the Wisconsin honey — couldn’t get along without it!
Cheers and Happy Holidays to you and yours,
*Heather*
Hey Joy! Merry Christmas!
I have a question. I can’t find fresh cranberries here in Israel. Is there a good fresh fruit substitution?
Thank you!
Linds
I just found your blog and it’s beautiful and delicious! I’m putting it in my bookmarks to stay :)
Love the honey and cranberry combo!
i was going to make your cinnamon roll muffins for christmas brunch but not i want to make this….. guess it’s going to have to be BOTH! :)
I think this will be on our Christmas day breakfast list. Looks delicious!
Your post came at just the right moment. My husband is demanding cranberry recipes and we love cornmeal. I baked this loaf and wrote about it on my blog, http://www.abundantfoodinthemaking.com/. Beautiful pictures and a terrific recipe.
Ha! I feel you sister. The first paragraph of my last post reads much the same. My plan for coping involves stuffing my pie hole with, well, pie. And cookies. And muffins. And anything else that isn’t nailed down. Healthy?
Happy holidays, Joy, and thanks for being a great source of inspiration and entertainment this year!
Oh, this looks marvelous!
P.S. I’m a very recent follower of yours, and just made a recipe of yours for the first time! I made the carrot cake pancakes for my brother’s birthday breakfast (breakfast at 2:30 pm? Yes, yes indeed :)) and he LOVED them! Perhaps I should be leaving this comment on the carrot cake post itself, but oh my, I have never had a better pancake. Ever. They were perfect because his favorite cake has always been a big, layered carrot cake– pancakes are just brilliant! Thank you, can’t wait to try the rest of the pancake recipes… you have got me hooked!
Definitely on the menu for Christmas breakfast! But I’m a sucker for anything cranberry. Love your perfectly photographed pics, too.
Hi, Joy! Happy Holidays! This recipe sounds great.
I see you’ve added a “print this recipe” function to your posts. I cannot find that functionality anywhere on Google. Any chance you’d share that info? Many thanks!
Terry
This looks awesome. Wish I had some cranberries on hand. The best I have is Craisins right now–think that would work?
I’ll bet you’d like my Eggnog Quick Bread. It actually uses eggnog in the batter, but doesn’t really end up tasting like eggnog, per se. More like a really yummy poundcake.
Recipe here: http://janconnair.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/now-dont-wrinkle-your-nose/
I always love to get a new quick bread recipe. I usually start baking and freezing mini breads in assorted shapes right after Thanksgiving. Wrap in coloured cellophane and tie with a ribbon; put two or three in a little basket, and you’ll bring a holiday smile to anyone. :D I’ve never thought to make a quick bread with cornmeal, so thank you, Joy, for another fabulous recipe. Warmest wishes for a very, merry Christmas!
The cornmeal must add a nice texture. Sounds so different!
it looked so good i was inspired to turn my own trick with cranberries! thanks ;)
I love this kind of bread. How delightful and perfect for Christmas time.
God bless you for mentioning that you atill have unanswered Christmas cards – I was chastising myself over our basket of unfinished mail – and the recipe sounds (and lokks!) great! Thank you and happy holidays!
Ah! I love all baked goods that include cornmeal- I just adore the texture :]
I also love fresh cranberries. I will certainly be making this upon returning home after Christmas!
Question–when I mix up the wet ingredients, should it be lumpy? Mine was. 49 more minutes in the oven to go…
Sounds just like my apartment! Except I’m baking sugar cookies :) That bread would be perfect for a holiday breakfast!
so appropiate for this time of the year, it really looks delicious, have a lovely xmas, cheers from london
Sounds like my house. Lovely bread!
Congratulations on your nomination for best food blog at Apartment Therapy’s “The Homies 2009.” Anyone who would like to vote for you can use this link:
http://homies.apartmenttherapy.com/2009/category/home-cooking
So festive!
What a beaut of a holiday bread! Have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!
You’re welcome for the honey! How exciting to see my little jar in a photo on your blog.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It will be a lovely snack when I’m sending out my ‘new year’s’ greeting cards post-Christmas!
This puts the “yum” into the season for sure.
PS: Cool center cut piece of wood as a tivet/platter. Love your quirky original artsy food photos!
these look yummy and delicious…hmmm…maybe I turn them into muffins this morning.
This is my first time visiting your site. It is so beautiful and the recipes look delicious. This cranberry honey cake looks dangerous to have around……hard to resist and fabulous!!
This dish would be perfect with maple syrup. I am not stating that just because I am Canadian, and presently live in an area of Quebec that has the best maple syrup anywhere. No ma’am, I am not.
Looks great! Joy, you should totally publish your blog onto Kindle!
I just made this bread and it is delicious as a long as your serve it with a little butter and honey. I think the fresh cranberries are wonderful, but they are definitely tart, next time I will probably add 1/2 cup brown sugar to the recipe, I feel like that would give it a little more sweetness and help make it more moist. Otherwise it’s a great recipe! Oh and be sure and set your kitchen timer to the earliest cooking time and check it frequently because if cornbread is overcooked it is not moist and is rather crumbly.
As per my moniker, I made this tonight for church tomorrow. I was glad for the excuse to finally try this recipe. Instead of adding more sugar, I pulsed the cranberries in the food processor first so there’s a more even balance between the sweet and tart.
i made this last night in 4 of the small,well mini loaf pans. this cake is absolutely fabulous.it is rich and buttery and rounded out by the wholesome taste of the walnuts and cornmeal.oh and the cranberries are a really nice tart surprise when you happen upon one! thanks so much for this fantastic recipe!
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