Cranberry Orange Loaf

I happened to have tangerines, so this became a "Cranberry Tangerine Loaf."  That probably made it a little more tart, but that's fine by me.  I don't usually bake desserts, but cranberries and December are practically synonymous, so I gave it a try.  It is terrific.  It took only about 30 minutes to bake, probably because I put it in a square pan instead of a loaf pan. The biggest problem was not eating all of the batter before it made it to the oven.

12 servings

8 calculated points

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 1⁄2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 ⁄2 cup pecans coarsely chopped
• 1 ⁄4 cup margarine softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 ⁄4 cup orange juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in orange zest, cranberries, and pecans. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in orange juice. Beat in flour mixture until just moistened. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the bread springs back when lightly touched. Let stand 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Wrap in plastic when completely cool.