Pumpkin Bread with Honey Cranberry Sauce

Tonight I’m making pumpkin bread, and I am sad to admit that it’s just a mix from Trader Joe’s. Ahhh, I know, but the canned pumpkin completely sold out before Thanksgiving. Don’t worry, I bought a frozen pumpkin pie because I wasn’t having Thanksgiving without one! I also grabbed a box of pumpkin bread/muffin mix. Of course I doctored it, but I still want to make one from scratch sometime (share your recipes!). So my Thanksgiving rebound is you, sweet pumpkin bread, and I’ve added an original honey cranberry sauce to spice things up. 

The Cranberry Sauce
1 bag cranberries
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Cinnamon stick
Lavender
Honey

 

Pumpkin Bread
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread/Muffin mix
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
Water
Oil

Preheat your oven to 350° and grab a mixing bowl. The package says to fold together two eggs, oil, and water with the package mix. I didn’t want to use that much water, so I used some whole milk and a mix of olive oil and canola oil (I’m out of vegetable). Grease your baking dish and bake for about 40-45 minutes. Per usual, just check the progress with a toothpick.

Now, to the fun sauce.

My sister gave me a bag of fresh cranberries after I helped her prepare for her friendsgiving. I’m so excited for this, because I’ve never made fresh cranberry sauce. I read a few recipes for inspiration and decided to add orange juice as well as water. Definitely make sure to watch the amount of liquid you use; I started out with too much and grimaced when I had to drain some of it. 

Bring the cranberries, water, sugar, and orange juice to a boil in a medium saucepan. To make up for not having orange or lemon zest, I’m experimenting with lavender. Love it! Cranberries aren’t my favorite since they’re super tart, but the lavender gave it a more earthy tone. Still, I want it sweeter so I’ve been adding sprinkles of sugar to taste. For an extra layer of flavor, I’m adding honey as a way to make it sweeter without adding plain old sugar. 

Let this simmer to thicken and keep seasoning and tasting until you’re satisfied. Enjoy!



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