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Cranberry Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread

Name: Cranberry-Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 cup craisins (plus 1 tablespoon for decoration); 1 ½ Cups all-purpose flour; ¾ cups whole-wheat flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ginger; ½ cup unsalted butter (melted); 2/3 cup granulated sugar (plus 1 tablespoon for decoration); ¼ cup honey; 1 large egg (room temperature); 1 tablespoon clementine zest; 1/3 cup clementine juice; 2/3 cup buttermilk

By Wendy Sondov · Published: Nov 21, 2014 · Modified: Dec 7, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Cranberry Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread is a soft, moist clementine flavored loaf bursting with sweet-tart cranberries. This whole grain loaf makes a delicious breakfast bread and a satisfying addition to tea time and study breaks.

Cranberry-Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread sliced on a cutting board.

Why you’ll love this recipe

I try to purposefully pause throughout the year to be thankful. Sometimes I am more successful than others. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day details of life, and not take note of daily little things that should be appreciated.

I have been married an absurdly long time, but a moment I remember quite clearly occurred during my wedding ceremony. The rabbi did something small, yet unusual, that created a memory I keep close to my heart.

Our wedding was held in a botanical arboretum ( kind of a giant greenhouse with floral displays), with a small gathering of family and friends on the paths around us. In the middle of the ceremony, the rabbi stopped.

He asked us to put our feet back on the ground, to truly be in the moment, and to look around us at the smiles on the faces of the people dearest to us in the whole world.

Thirty-four years later, I clearly remember those smiles. I am so thankful to have held onto that moment in time, and to have shared it with those I love.

A loaf of Cranberry Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread with one piece sliced.

I was thinking about all I have to be thankful for as I packed this month’s military care package. Though my care packages always include a cheery thank you note, this thank you note seemed especially relevant.

I hope my Thanksgiving note to Soldier B. conveyed my heartfelt appreciation for the sacrifices military personnel make as they proudly serve our country. Many men and women will spend their holidays doing a dangerous job far from those they love. I wish them all a safe Thanksgiving and safe return home.

Four weeks have gone by since I sent my October military care package. The Halloween themed box was the first care package addressed to Soldier B. instead of Paratrooper Derik, who happily has returned home.

I hadn’t heard from Soldier B. and was concerned that maybe the care package hadn’t made it to Afghanistan. I only had Soldier B.’s APO address, so I had no other way of contacting him. It is completely understandable that sending out emails couldn’t be a priority for an active duty soldier.

I decided to go ahead with the November package and give it a bit more time. You can imagine how delighted I was when I found a message from Soldier B. in my email last night!

The box arrived, the Halloween decorations were displayed, the cookies were devoured, and most wonderfully, Soldier B. reports that the box made the soldiers “feel a little bit of home!” Mission accomplished.

Thanksgiving Military Care Package decorated with turkey illustrations and filled with snacks.

Care Package Contents

The obvious theme for a November care package is Thanksgiving. My intent was to gather an assortment of items that symbolize the traditional foods and activities of Thanksgiving day. In lieu of a turkey (which would spoil) or a parade (which wouldn’t fit) I packed up these alternatives.

Commercialism in America appears to jump from Halloween directly to Christmas. The Dollar Store, my usual source of fun, themed goodies had little to offer, other than two foam footballs for traditional after feasting sport.

Instead, this box was filled with symbolic foods from Trader Joe’s (I hope the symbolism is obvious); turkey jerky, apple sauce in squeeze containers, sweet potato chips (which may become sweet potato powder by the time they get to Afghanistan), cranberry and nuts mix.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies decorated with icing to look like turkeys.

Circle Sugar Cookies:

As faulty and imperfect as they are, I love these little turkeys. If slightly quirky and unique poultry appeal to you, this design is not fast, but it is easy.

My biggest tips for keeping the icing from beginning to dry too quickly (the cause of the messy turkey in my process photos) is to make sure the icing is fluid rather than thick and pasty, and do NOT stop and take photos every few minutes.

I used one batch of vanilla sugar cookie dough and one batch of chocolate sugar cookie dough.

I needed two batches of faux royal icing for 48 cookies, but I did have some icing left over. I made one batch of icing chocolate by adding ¼ cup of cocoa and a few drops of brown food coloring. The other batch of icing was divided in three and colored orange, yellow, and red.

Decorating steps: indent two traceable circles, trace with icing, fill with icing and add candy eyes.

I used a piping tip to gently press guide lines on the cookies, then outlined the circles with brown icing. Let the outline dry slightly (about 1 hour) before flooding with more brown icing. Wait until the surface is dry before continuing (another hour).

Decorating steps adding; icing beak and wattle, icing legs and brown outline feathers, orange outline feathers.

Add the details to the face and the legs. The feathers are created by outlining with several colors, then dragging a toothpick from the outer edge toward the turkey body.

If the colored icing lines are wet (not drying due to photo taking) the toothpick will drag easily, the line will disappear, and a marble effect will resemble feathers.

Decorating steps; add feather outlines until filled, with toothpick drag icing in from edge for feathers.

New Recipe: Cranberry-Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread

The flavors of this Cranberry-Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread are completely Thanksgiving.

I was flipping through “The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook” for a loaf or a bar recipe that would work in this care package, when I spotted the original recipe. Cranberries are my favorite Thanksgiving food.

Four loaves later, with a wide variety of tweaks and not a little frustration, I give you this delectable Thanksgiving (or anytime) quick bread.

The original recipe had great flavor but was dry. So I added buttermilk. Cakes and loaves made with buttermilk are always moist.

One slice of Cranberry Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread showing interior of loaf studded with cranberries

Storage

Stored airtight at room temperature, Cranberry-Clementine Quick Bread stays moist and delicious for at least 5 days. Refrigerated it stays fresh for at least 7 days.

A loaf of Cranberry Clementine Whole Wheat Quick Bread from above.

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