Cranberry pumpkin banana bread mixes bananas, canned pumpkin, and dried cranberries (affiliate link) for a delicious, delectably fragrant breakfast! Next, try my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
It’s just September, yet I’m already seeing pumpkin-flavored stuff, everywhere. Is it just me, or does it seem to become earlier and earlier every year? I completely anticipate to miss out on summer beers next year since we’ll move directly from spring to October and skip summer totally.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind it since I’m not a great lover of summer with the heat and humidity and bugs and the high AC cost, and have I said how much I dislike the heat?
Well, autumn, here we come.
We’ll be in Hawaii for the most of September for our honeymoon, which is obviously fantastic since we’ll be in Hawaii. But it’s also a disappointment since we’ll miss all the apple harvesting and foliage (which is expected to peak early this year in New England), two of my favorite things that I look forward to every year.
But I keep telling myself that LESLIE, YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN HAWAII NEXT YEAR TO SHUT UP AND GET APPLES UNDER BEAUTIFUL COLORED TREES. I’m so obnoxious.
Fortunately, we will not miss out on picking up any pumpkins. I’m the stereotypical New Englander who decorates her porch steps with different sizes pumpkins and gourds, and I have no regrets.
Pumpkin-flavored snacks and beverages are not typical of me. They irritate me. AT ALL. Really, get your PSL out of my face and give me a regular cup of coffee, please and thank you.
But I’ve finally discovered a pumpkin dish I can get behind: cranberry pumpkin banana bread. I discovered the ideal ratio of pumpkin to other tastes, allowing me to be a member of the Basic Autumn Society without having to scrape my own taste buds off my tongue.
This bread is light and delicious, and it smells great. I was hesitant to combine banana and pumpkin since they are both rather strong tastes, and I wasn’t sure whether they would become an insufferable flavor war or if they would balance each other out. Surprise! Equilibrium was attained. And the pockets of dried cranberries (affiliate link) provide a pleasant acidity to each mouthful.
This recipe yields two 95-pound loaves, which is ideal since you can bake two for yourself and gift one to a friend who deserves your delectable creation.
Send it to school with your child and have them deliver it to their favorite teacher. I’m sure they could use a little additional nutrition at the start of the school year, and they certainly deserve it.
Before baking, I like to dot mine with more cranberries on top for a little extra cranberry flavor in each mouthful. It’s not required, and it’ll seem more natural without them, but the heart wants what it wants, and I’m not going to stop it.
I noticed after the first loaf was gone that I hadn’t added any condiments to a single slice. As in, I didn’t reheat them and smear them with butter, and I didn’t pour them with honey. Not to suggest that none of those things would be perfectly fantastic, but it tasted so nice without them that I didn’t think of adding anything.
But now that I think of it, this would be fantastic with some cinnamon honey butter. Or cranberry jam!
Now I need to go bake another loaf of this bread so I can sample both of them. Oh, no.
Contents
Can’t get enough pumpkin?
- Create your own pumpkin spice blend from scratch (from Whitney Bond)
- Then, for breakfast, try this cranberry pumpkin banana bread and some pumpkin pancakes (from Taste and See)
- Make some pumpkin soup for a fast weekday lunch (from Savory Nothings)
- Dinner options include pumpkin and beef chili (from Hunger Thirst Play) or pumpkin fettuccine alfredo (from Bowl of Delicious)
- Pour yourself an apple cider pumpkin shandy (from Hunger Thirst Play)
- Try this three-layer pumpkin buttercream cake (from Hunger Thirst Play), a pumpkin cake roll with toffee cream cheese filling (from Tara Teaspoon), or my Paleo Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Pie Bars for dessert.
- Make roasted pumpkin seeds (from Wholefully) if you’ve gotten your hands on some real pumpkins!
Cranberry Pumpkin Banana Bread
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Description
Equipment
- 9-by-5-inch loaf pan
- Mixing Stand
- blending bowls
Ingredients
- 4 room temperature eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup melted coconut oil (can substitute vegetable or canola oil)
- 5 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups regular flour
- To taste, 3-4 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- teaspoonsalt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
- 1 cup mashed overripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
- 2 cups cranberries, dried
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and cover two 95-inch loaf pans with parchment paper and nonstick spray. Set aside some time
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence, 3 cup coconut oil, 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
Combine eggs, brown sugar, coconut oil, butter, and vanilla in the large bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until thoroughly blended.
1 cup light brown sugar, 4 eggs - a teaspoon of salt
12 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 3-4 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons baking powder 1
In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3 1 - Mix the dry components into the wet ingredients on low speed until mostly incorporated. Mix in the pumpkin and bananas until completely mixed.
1 canned pumpkin cup, 1 overripe banana cup - 2 cups cranberries, dried
Stir in the cranberries until barely incorporated.
2 1 - Divide the mixture equally between the two loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes (or until the tops begin to brown), then cover with foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes (or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out with only a moist crumb).
- Let to cool fully in the pans before removing, slicing, and serving. Enjoy!