Cranberry nut bread with toasted pecans

This cranberry nut bread recipe is a little different than most because the cranberries and pecans are finely chopped. This distributes their flavor throughout the entire bread, so each bite is nutty and just slightly tart.

Toasting the nuts at a low temperature brings out their rich, buttery, nutty flavor without turning bitter. This extra step is worth it.

You can use whole cranberries if you prefer the bright pops of flavor, but I encourage you to give this method a try at least once. I used pecans, but almost any nut (or combination of nuts) work out great.

Jump to:

• Recipe
• Cranberry nut bread with toasted pecans
• Nutrition
• Fresh cranberries
• Nuts
• Toasting nuts
• Cranberries & nuts: to chop or not?
• Add oil to batter at the end of mixing
• Specialty oils & cranberry nut bread
• Other recipes & resources

Recipe

Nutrition

I cut this cranberry nut bread into 12 slices, and consider a single slice a serving.

Each slice is 269 calories, which is about the same as most healthy-ish muffins. The nuts account for 15% of the calories and the oil is another 30%. Both of these add healthy monounsaturated fats and protein.

Here's a look at the other ingredients, per slice:

• Flour: 57 calories and 1.5 grams of protein
• Sugar: 60 calories (about 4 teaspoon per slice)
• Eggs: 18 calories and 1.5 grams of protein
• Walnut oil: 80 calories (similar for vegetable oil) - filled with good fats!
• Pecans: 43 calories and 0.5 grams of protein (similar for other nuts)
• Cranberries: 4 calories (they are very, very low in natural sugar)

If you want to reduce the added sugar, you can cut the white sugar in half and it would still be delicious.

Fresh cranberries

Cranberries are in season in fall, usually sold in grocery stores from October through December.

Fresh cranberries add a bolder tart flavor than dried cranberries. They also haven't been sweetened like most dried cranberries. You can also use frozen cranberries, but you'll want to use them whole and add to the batter while still frozen.

Cranberries' tartness is mellowed out when baked into this cranberry nut bread, cranberry muffins or scones. They are also very rarely bitter in baked goods (unlike cranberry sauce where they sometimes turn bitter from overcooking).

Nuts

Almost any type of nut works in this recipe, it depends on what flavor profile you're going for.

• Pecans: rich & nutty flavor
• Walnuts: buttery, earthy and sometimes slightly bitter
• Almonds: mild, tending to slightly sweet
• Pistachios: sweet and grassy or piney
• Hazelnuts: buttery, earthy, hint of bitter chocolate

I encourage you to be nutty (pun intended) with substitutions. If you have pecan oil on hand, use some of that. Do you have almond flour? Substitute ¼ cup of all purpose flour with almond flour.

Are you lucky enough to have a source of black walnuts, chop those up and you'll bake up the best cranberry nut bread. Are you using hazelnuts? Add some chopped dark chocolate to the batter too!

Toasting nuts

Toasting nuts enhances their nutty, sweet flavors while also diminishing any bitter or grassy flavors. They become slightly softer and more buttery - all around delicious.

On the other hand, over toasted nuts can taste bitter or acrid, even before they are officially burnt. When you're unsure if the nuts are golden brown enough or not, err on the side of caution and take them out early.

Low heat is best

Nuts should be toasted low & slow to prevent them from burning. Most recipes suggest toasting nuts in a 325-350ºF for 5-7 minutes, but I've burnt entire batches of nuts too many times.

It turns out, burning nuts isn't the only problem. Toasting nuts at higher heat can cause them to taste bitter and rancid. Curious about the optimal temperature, I read several studies on roasting different nuts (almonds, pistachios, and macadamia nuts).

The science behind it all

Several independent studies tested various roasting temperatures - 50, 75, 100, 125, and 150ºC (or in Fahrenheit: 122, 167, 212, 257, 302ºF). Each study concluded the optimal roasting temperature was 125ºC, or about 250ºF and that roasting at or above 300ºF (150ºC) caused problems.

One study of macadamia roasting temperatures concludes: "...the judges said that roasted kernels at 125ºC [257ºF] had a perfectly crisp texture, a brown color, and were very nutty."

They continue on, stating the problems of the higher roasting temperature of 150ºC (302ºF): "However, a significant amount of rancidity; decreased content of flavonoids, phenols, and antioxidants; and an excessively crispy texture, a dark brown color, and a bitter flavor were present in kernels that were roasted at 150ºC."

Here are a few other key finding from that study:

• Nuts roasted at 125ºC (257ºF) had the best texture
• Nuts roasted at 125ºC (257ºF) browned the best, whereas 150ºC (302ºF) were overly browned
• Nuts roasted at 50 and 75 were mildly nutty tasting, nutty at 100, and extremely nutty as 125 with "no discernible off-flavors." At 150 they were bitter or extremely bitter.

Before I dug into the science of it, I had started following the advice of several experts who suggest toasting nuts at 150ºC/250ºF. As expected, the nuts toasted more evenly and rarely burned. But surprisingly, they also tasted better.

I thought perhaps I just imagined the nuts tasted better (especially pecans). That is, until I read through the industry research. I feel so validated, especially when the vast majority of advice still suggests roasting nuts above 300ºF.

Toast nuts whole, then chop

Most experienced bakers advise toasting nuts whole, then chopping them. Chopped nuts are more likely to over toast, or toast unevenly if they aren't uniform in size.

It's also worth noting that not all nuts toast at the same speed, either. Pecans typically toast faster than almonds, for example.

Cranberries & nuts: to chop or not?

Cranberries can absolutely be added whole, like you would in muffins or most quick breads. However, I sometimes like chopping them up so they freckle the bread. It spreads out their tart flavor, which can be a nice change of pace.

As for the nuts, it depends on what you are looking for. Larger nut pieces give a crunchier texture with pops of their characteristic flavor. Think of your favorite banana nut muffin - are the nuts larger and noticeable or do they blend into the background.

Finely chopping the nuts distributes them more evenly and gives a nutty flavor to the bread itself (rather than pieces of nutty bites). The smaller you chop them, the more it would taste like you cooked with nut flour, rather than nuts.

Either option if fantastic. Just know that whether your choose to chop the cranberries and how finely you chop the nuts does make a difference. Choose your own adventure!

Add oil to batter at the end of mixing

You might have noticed that this cranberry nut bread recipe adds oil in after the batter has been mixed. The first time I encountered this technique was making apple strudel with Sweet Bee's Jessica Ellington.

Expecting the skepticism that comes with this technique, she explained that mixing the oil in at the end affects absorption and gluten formation in the flour. The strudel was the best I've had - she knows what she's doing!

I later came across a recipe from the respected baker, Dorie Greenspan. One of her cranberry quick bread recipes adds oil at the end. I gave it a shot and the bread was delicious. So I continued that tradition in this recipe.

If you forgot that step, and added oil in with the rest of the wet ingredients, it will be fine. The texture will change slightly, but still be a delicious cranberry nut bread. Carry on!

Specialty oils & cranberry nut bread

I have a hard time passing up specialty ingredients. They are usually pricey but they are splurge-worthy to me.

La Tourangelle oils aren't too expensive - usually around $8-$14 for a medium sized bottle. Their walnut and pecan oils add so much flavor to baked goods, salad dressings, and roasting winter squash. They also have pistachio and almond oil worth trying out too.

You can often find their olive oil and avocado oil at most grocery stores. The nut oils are harder to find. If buy a lot of things off Amazon, all of their products are listed in the La Tourangelle store (scroll down to the 'nut oil' section to see the full list).

Full disclosure: the Amazon link is an affiliate link, so I get a small commission if you buy something, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products that I personally use and like! I go through 2 bottle of their garlic oil per month, 1 large bottle of the avocado oil for high heat cooking, and love their nut oils for baking in fall and winter.

Other recipes & resources

Whether you are looking for more cranberry recipes or want to do more baking this season, I've got you.

More cranberry bread type of recipes worth checking out:

• Orange glazed cranberry bread by Sally's Baking
• Cranberry crumb coffee cake by Katiebird Bakes
• Whole wheat cranberry bread by An Oregon Cottage