Orange Cranberry Bread Mix

I honestly feel very blessed to have a really great mother-in-law. Most people can't stand their in-laws but mine are all pretty fantastic. Recently I stole my mother-in-law's cookbook. With her permission, of course. Going through it I found tons of wonderful recipes and have a list a mile long of things to try out.

First though, I had to make her Orange Cranberry Bread. I did and totally loved it! Because it was so yummy, I thought it would be fun to share it with my family. However, this presented a challenge because my immediate family lives in Tennessee and Seattle...just a bit away from Wyoming! Having moldy bread arrive in the mail just didn't seem very holiday friendly to me. Instead, I decided to convert my mother-in-law's recipe into a mix (it originally made about 4-5 loaves) so they can easily make a fresh loaf whenever they need a tasty treat.

Orange Cranberry Bread Mix
1 mix will completely fill a quart-sized canning jar

2 c. Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 c. Chopped Pecans (or use white chocolate chips)
1 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Crisco (butter flavored)

Starting with the flour, layer ingredients in a quart size jar. I chose to use white chocolate chips with this one and pecans with another batch.

Before adding sugar and crisco, combine them together in a bowl until crumb-like. Fill jar completely with the sugar, packing it down as go. It'll look like the sugar won't all fit in but I promise that if you add a little at a time and pack each addition down, it will fit just perfectly!

Tie a pretty ribbon and attach a label stating what it is and include the following baking directions:

Add 1 beaten egg, 3/4 c. orange juice and 1 c. fresh or frozen cranberries. Spoon dough into one of the following baking options:

1 greased and floured loaf pan

or

greased and floured empty metal coffee can (for round a round loaf)

or

2 small greased and floured loaf pans

Bake at 350 until golden brown and top springs back when lightly touched (cooking times will vary depending on what you choose to bake the bread in).