Apple, Cranberry and Pistachio bread
I can’t think of a more festive holiday loaf than this quick bread. With apples, cranberries, and pistachios (and an apple-cinnamon glaze), this bread is the epitome of Christmas in both presentation and taste.
Nearly fall-apart tender, the bread keeps well and the flavors only intensify with age. Whether you wrap up a loaf as a gift or enjoy it with your family for breakfast, it’s sure to become a new seasonal favorite.
Apple, Cranberry and Pistachio Bread
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 52 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf, 12 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Moist and delicious apple, cranberry, and pistachio bread topped with spiced glaze, dried cranberries, and chopped pistachios. Festive and perfect for the holidays!
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Ingredients
Bread
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup pistachios, chopped
- 1 cup peeled and grated apple
Glaze
- 6 Tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp apple juice
Topping
- 1 Tbsp dried cranberries
- 1 Tbsp chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine apple juice, oil, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in cranberries, pistachios, and apple. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top with an offset spatula.
- Bake for 50 to 52 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. If bread is browning too quickly, cover with foil. Bread is done when golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove bread from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
- For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, cinnamon, and apple juice in a small bowl. Set rack with bread over a piece of wax paper and drizzle with glaze; top with cranberries and pistachios and let set before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Keywords: Apple, Cranberry, Pistachio, Quick Bread
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Could you turn this into bars? How would that affect the cooking time/temp?
Hi Karen, this is a quick bread recipe so it could be baked as muffins, but would not work so well as bars. If you are looking for a bar with similar flavors, try my cranberry pecan crumb bars and swap the pecans with pistachios. Hope that helps!
So beautiful! This is the perfect holiday bread – a must make on my list!!!
Again, so pretty. You’ve loaded this bread with some of my favorite things. The greens and reds are lovely and I especially like the cinnamon in the glaze.
Absolutely gorgeous and stunning looking bread. Pistachios are my favorite nut and I never use them in cooking/baking (partly b/c of how expensive they are) but man, the color contrast on this bread looks amazing!
What a festive and delicious looking bread this is! Pistachios are one of my favorite things to eat! 🙂
Beautiful! This bread looks like Christmas!
Yum-gorgeous bread! This is my baking week so I love all your inspiration Laura 😉
beautiful bread Laura, and the pretty colors of Christmas too!
A beautiful and delicious bread! Very festive looking.
Cheers,
Rosa
Ahh so pretty, Laura! It’s visually appealing (what a nice holiday recipe!) and I’m very sure it tastes amazing too!