I love a good quick bread. They're much easier than trying to wait for butter to soften, or meticulously fill a pan of muffin cups. These days I'm all about the quick and easy. You can literally have the batter mixed up and ready to go by the time your oven is pre-heated!

More often than not when I find myself with leftover buttermilk, I add it to baked goods. Coffee cake, donuts, and one of my favorite banana breads. When I saw this post by the kitchn that offers 10 variations to a basic buttermilk bread, I bookmarked it for the next 'leftover buttermilk' occasion.
That occasion arose a few weeks ago after I made a batch of pancakes for my visiting cousin (just the basic recipe--we didn't go outrageous with the berries and mascarpone that morning!). Having just picked up a few bags of insanely cheap cranberries, I decided to make the cranberry orange walnut bread, but with fresh cranberries instead of dried.
My mom was in town when I baked this and mentioned that it smelled like Christmas as it baked. We have 15 days until Christmas...giving you ample time to make this. That being said, it's good enough to enjoy year-round! The tart cranberries, the tangy orange, and the crunch from the walnuts made for an exciting loaf. I only managed one piece before it was scarfed down by the rest of my family, within twenty-four hours!

One Year Ago: No-Bake Biscoff Granola Bars
Two Years Ago: La Cuisine Chocolate Cookies

Cranberry Orange Walnut Buttermilk Bread
adapted from the kitchn

Ingredients:
-1 cup all purpose flour
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 baking soda
-1 tsp salt
-1 cup buttermilk
-1 large egg
-1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
-1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
-1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
-1 tsp vanilla
-zest from one orange

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.
3. Gently fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, just until flour is incorporated. Do not overmix.
4. Stir in the cranberries, walnuts, and orange zest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow loaf to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing and slicing.