Baby - It's COLD outside!

Ok, so I'm a bit of a wimp given that I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and most days the weather rarely dips below 50, so when high 30's are expected we tend to freak out a little.

Since the house was so cold when I got home from work, I figured I would warm it up by baking some yummy treats, the first of which (yes, there were more than one) I'm sharing with you here.

Cranberry Orange Loaf - Allrecipes.com

It's not very often that I find a recipe that works perfectly as written, but this one did.  I originally made it just after Thanksgiving because I had all sorts of leftover ingredients that I wanted to put to good use.

Cranberry Orange Loaf

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup pecans, chopped coarse
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup orange juice

Glaze (optional)

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Grease and flour 9x5 loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and pecans - set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in orange juice. Fold into flour mixture until just combined. Pour into pan.
Bake at 350 in a preheated oven for 1 hour, or until bread springs back when lightly touched.  Let sit for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool.  Pour glaze over warm loaf if desired.

I have made this with and without the glaze - it is nice to have, but not completely necessary.

I'll post my other cold winter night recipes soon!

Enjoy!