For a taste of the season that’s also not quite as decadent as other holiday baking, make our cranberry orange quickbread. Mission figs add sweetness times two to naturally tart cranberry quickbread.
Fall for Figs in This Holiday Bread
You might see those bright red berries and think you know what this quickbread is all about, but trust us, our Orchard Choice and Sun-Maid California Dried Figs are the starring ingredient. They show up in tender chunks stirred into the cranberry orange quickbread batter, but also—and here, they make their nutrient magic work extra hard—we use fig puree to cut the amount of fat necessary.
In the spirit of applesauce in baked goods, fig puree means the texture will remain moist, and it adds in extra fiber, calcium, and potassium. We like using our Mission Dried Figs in the cranberry quickbread for their deeply intense jammy flavor, but you could easily swap in our Golden Dried Figs with their slightly nutty and delicately sweet flavor.
Count on Cranberries
Cranberries are much more than a Thanksgiving side dish sauce staple. Since fresh cranberries are available for such a short window of time, we like to snap up an extra bag to freeze for cranberry baking desires throughout the year. They add a bit of juicy punch to the quickbread and their cheery red color.
Winter Spice is Nice
The phrase sugar and spice and everything nice could apply to holiday baking. Transitioning from Thanksgiving to December baking starts with spice. Something about allspice and cloves takes us into merry territory with their aroma. Heating things up with ginger and cinnamon completes the spicing in the cranberry quickbread. A few scrapes of winter citrus and orange zest brightens the batter.
A Sparkly Top
The festive top comes to life with two moves. First, we reserve some of the fig puree to thin out and polka dot on top. Then, you drag a toothpick through to swirl the puree. Lastly, sprinkle on sparkling sugar and get bake.
Fig Cranberry Orange Quickbread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon Fig Puree , divided
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 ounces Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid Mission Dried Figs
- 4 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cup water
- 6 tablespoons neutral oil (like canola, safflower or grapeseed)
- 2 large eggs
- Sparkling sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a (8 ½- x 4 ½ x 2 ½ inch) standard loaf pan.
- Stir together 1 tablespoon fig puree with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, sugar, spices, and salt. Tumble chopped figs and cranberries in flour until coated. In a separate bowl, whisk together orange zest, water, 1/2 cup of the fig puree, oil, and eggs. Pour wet ingredients into the bowl of flour. Fold until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top of the batter.
- Using the bowl of thinned out fig puree, polka dot the top of the batter. Drag a toothpick through and down the circles of fig puree so they swirl. Sprinkle on sparkling sugar if desired.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the densest part of the quickbread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
