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.
Two Years Ago: Spicey Orange Shrimp
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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 love blueberries in pancakes and waffles. They’ve gotta be good in cinnamon rolls too!
Yum! I have always wanted to make my own cinnamon rolls but have always been a tad nervous about he process!!! These look amazing with the blueberries!!
P.S. I found your blog today when you posted that you were from Boston on Tina’s blog! I am from just outside of Boston too!
these look amazing. I love cinnamon rolls, and this combo sounds great!
Can you tell me how to make the frosting?
I love the blueberry, I tried swapping them with raspberries and they were just as good if not better. Love the base recipe.
I made these today cheating with crescent roll dough. They were amazing!
Da bomb! Brilliant, as well as yummy:)
Thank you! I will make an impression at brunch tomorrow..lol
Made these for Easter breakfast (blueberry cinnamon rolls, hardboiled eggs, and thick sliced ham slices). What a delicious treat! I don’t know if I’ll ever go back “regular” cinnamon rolls again! I cut the recipe in half. Perfect amount for my husband, myself, and 3 teenaged boys. Honestly, I can’t say enough about this recipe. These rolls are worth every minute spent making them. To avoid having to get up so early, I saved the second rise for the morning. After slicing the rolls and placing them in the greased pan, I covered them tightly with plastic wrap and placed them in the fridge overnight. I took them out of the fridge and let them set at room temperature to rise for about an hour before placing them in the oven. They were perfect! Thanks so much!
beantownbaker — April 27th, 2014 @ 2:50 pm
So glad you enjoyed them!! I’ve done the second rise the next morning as well.
Forgot to mention that a step was left out of the recipe: it never tells you to sprinkle the rolled out dough with sugar and cinnamon mixture (& 2 T flour?).
beantownbaker — April 27th, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
Thanks for pointing this out. I updated the recipe to reflect this.
Hi there – I was wondering if this dough would be okay to freeze? I’m a novice when it comes to anything baking related!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:14 pm
I have blogged about freezing cinnamon rolls here: http://www.beantownbaker.com/2011/01/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls.html I like to par-bake them, then freeze them, then finish baking them when you want them.
I found that the cinnamon was over powering. I will add 3 tsp next time 4 Tablespoons was way to much.
Is there any kneading involved???