Carolyn's Cranberry Bread

A student Rabbi recently gave a class on weather or not Thanksgiving was "kosher." Most authorities say yes, as long as you are not married to any particular ritual or fixed menu on that day. We've got no problem throwing the ritual out the window since we moved the day to Friday (who wants to cook two huge meals two days in a row when you don't have to?). But for anyone who knows anything about Thanksgiving, giving up the fixed menu is nearly impossible, especially when you have a cranberry bread recipe that knocks your socks off like this one. We worked our way around the injunction by making this all year long.
We got the recipe from our sister-in-law Carolyn. She had made it for us one year and we couldn't get enough so we pestered her for it. She fessed up that it came from a children's cookbook in the Dayton Public Library. Over the years we have modified it a bit, usually skipping the nuts, and throwing the cranberries in whole.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 Tbs baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1⁄2 Tbs. baking soda
• 1⁄4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. grated orange peel (optional)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 bag (6 oz) fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

Instructions

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. 
2. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. 
3. Add egg, orange peel, and orange juice all at once; stir just until mixture is evenly moist. 
4. Fold in cranberries and nuts. 
5. Spoon into a greased 9" x 5" x3" loaf pan - glass seems to work best. 
6. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
7. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Slice and serve.