Cranberry Raisin Almond Banana Bread
Here’s another banana bread recipe. Like the one I posted the other day, this banana bread kicks things up a notch with some great mix-ins. I hadn’t planned on using raisins and crans, but I didn’t have enough crans for the recipe, so I went with a combination of the two. It added great color and flavor to use both.
I really enjoyed the almond and banana combination. By using almond extract, there was a great almond scent to the bread, and of course the chopped almonds helped to enhance the almond flavor while also adding texture to the bread.
This bread came out pretty dense, I think due to all the add ins and the fact that I used white whole wheat flour in the bread. This bread made a great breakfast for me and Hubby for quite a few days. And, of course, it also freezes really well.
I always toast nuts that I use in any recipe. Toasting them really brings out their nutty flavor. I usually toast them in a skillet on medium heat for just a few minutes until they become fragrant.
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Cranberry Raisin Almond Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup mashed banana (2 medium bananas)
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
Directions:
Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 -inch loaf pan.
Mix sugar and butter together in a medium mixing bowl until completely blended.
Add banana, milk, eggs, and almond extract, mixing well.
Add dry ingredients, mixing just until moist.
Stir in almonds, dried cranberries, and raisins. Spread batter evenly in a loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool.
Recipe adapted from Ocean Spray, as seen on Sweet and Savory Tooth
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I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I guess they would be hard to bite into, but if you made them thinner you wouldn’t have such a beautiful swirl of blueberry in there. They look fabulous.
Those look amazing! Totally on my list!
These look delicious. I love lemon and blueberries.
Mimi
These look great! Maybe a little thinner would be better but either way they must have tasted fantastic!
Yum, I think your idea of a cheesecake ice cream brillant. I agree those swirls are gorgeous!
~ingrid
mmmmm i’d love to have a batch of those sitting in front of me right now!
These are too pretty to eat! I love the blueberry/lemon combo.
These look outstanding! I love the swirls and the combo of lemon and blueberry is always a winner!
Looks delicious! Gorgeous photos.
Those look great! What a beautiful photo!
very nice! look just exactly like the ones in the magazine!
eliza
http://fooddiary.blogsome.com
These are amazing! I didn’t know they were dairy free… We just found our little nephew is allergic to dairy, I’ll have to make these for him.
Just as gorgeous as they were on the cover of Gourmet. Saw these on tastespotting and knew I recognized them! Yum!
Just as gorgeous as they were on the cover of Gourmet. Saw these on tastespotting and knew I recognized them! Yum!
This looks ……… WOW!!!!
What a great idea! One of the best looking desserts I’ve seen in a long time – irresistable!