Quick breads are a great and easy baking option to fulfill your holiday baked goods cravings without going overboard. Fruitcake itself has been around for hundreds of years, dating back to the Romans when the recipe included pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins mixed with a barley mash. The fruit and fiber in fruitcake is loaded with anti-oxidants. Traditionally made with a lot of sugar (which keeps mold from forming and makes the cake last a long time), this recipe will exclude such fillers and shelf-life lengtheners. It is more of a guideline than it is a strict recipe, and can be easily adapted to swap in your favorites or what you have in hand.

Ingredients

2.5-3 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses (or honey, maple syrup, agave)
*Molasses is rich in iron and Christmas flavor
2 cups cranberry sauce (or applesauce, canned pumpkin, canned pineapple, mashed bananas, etc.)
1.5 cups dried fruit & nuts (raisins, dates, figs, apricots, walnuts, candied ginger, coconut, cashews, dried mango, etc.)
1/4 cup water (or orange or apple juice, etc.)

Recipe

In a saute pan cook 1 bag of cranberries with 1/4 cup water, orange or apple juice, just until the cranberries pop and the consistency mimics applesauce. If you’re short on time, substituting applesauce, canned pumpkin, canned pineapple or mashed bananas for the cranberries will do just fine. If you use applesauce good pairings could include dried cranberries and pecans. If using canned pineapple, try coconut, cashews and dried mango – there’s freedom in the combo – tweak it to your desire. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and pour into a greased bread pan 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Slice, pour a mug of coffee or tea and enjoy!