It’s officially pumpkin-flavored-everything time. Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin candles (yes, candles), the squash is having a spectacular seasonal moment.
But hiding in pumpkin’s shadow is another holiday superstar: the cranberry.
Cranberries are tart, bright, berry-licious little beauties. And when you pair them with sunny orange, they go from pucker-worthy to positively irresistible. The result is a sweet-tart cranberry orange jam that is glossy, jewel-toned, and dangerously spoonable (warning: “just one taste” can become “where did half the jar go?”).
Then we have the bread: a nontraditional twist on Irish soda bread that is crusty, buttery, tender, and bursting with dried cranberries and fresh orange zest.
Together, this cranberry orange soda bread and jam duo is outrageously delicious. It’s also easy, fun, and pleasantly inexpensive, because holiday fabulousness does not require a fancy food budget.
And here’s the plan, my frugal foodies: We’ll bake the bread first. While it’s in the oven, we’ll make the jam. Then we’ll serve both while the bread is still warm, with generous, gloriously glossy spoonfuls of cranberry orange jam on top.
It’s a dreamy way to spend an autumn afternoon in the kitchen. You may want to invite a friend, though, because this is sticky business.
Why Cranberry and Orange Make Such a Merry Match
Cranberry brings the tartness. Orange brings fragrant zest and juicy sweetness. One is bold and bracing; the other is bright and sunny. Together, they balance each other beautifully.
The orange zest perfumes the soda bread and gives the jam a citrusy lift, while the cranberries add plenty of ruby-red color and holiday sparkle. No elaborate decorating required.
And the jam is not just for bread. It can upgrade:
- Turkey sandwiches
- Cream cheese and crackers
- Brie or bleu cheese
- A holiday charcuterie board
- Roasted turkey, chicken, pork, or salmon
- Leftover holiday rolls
- Breakfast toast and biscuits
So, yes, this is a two-recipe situation, but it’s also a many-meal, many-snack, make-it-look-fancy-for-less situation.
Sticky Dough Is Not a Personal Failure
The soda bread dough will be very sticky before you knead in additional flour. That is normal. It does not mean you ruined anything, and it certainly does not mean you need to panic-order a bakery loaf.
Flour your work surface, sprinkle flour over the dough, and add more gradually as you knead. You want dough that is easy to handle, not a dry, dense dough brick.
And please don’t overwork it. Soda bread is wonderfully low-maintenance. A little gentle kneading brings it together, then the oven does the heavy lifting. We love an overachieving loaf.
Cranberry Orange Soda Bread
Yield: 1 loaf
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45–55 minutes
Ingredients
- 5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) cold butter
- 1¾ cups buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat it with nonstick spray.
Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix 4 cups of the flour, sugar, baking soda, and kosher salt.
Grate in the cold butter. Using a cheese grater, grate the cold butter directly into the flour mixture. Stir to distribute the butter throughout the flour. This is a marvelous shortcut for working cold butter into dough, especially if you don’t feel like wrestling with a pastry cutter.
Whisk the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, orange zest, and vanilla extract.
Make the dough. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until the dough comes together, then add the dried cranberries and stir again.
The dough will be very sticky. Again: normal. We are not judging the dough at this stage.
Knead with the remaining flour. Transfer the dough to a floured, flat surface. Sprinkle about ¼ cup of the remaining flour over the dough and begin kneading. Add more flour as needed until the dough is no longer sticky and can be kneaded easily.
Shape the loaf. Form the dough into a round loaf and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut an X into the top.
Bake. Bake for 45–55 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
Cool briefly, then slice. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before serving. It will be warm, fragrant, and begging for butter and jam.
Bread Tips for Busy Divas
- Freshly grated orange zest gives the best citrus aroma and flavor.
- Keep the butter cold until you grate it.
- Don’t be shy about flouring your hands and work surface.
- The bread is especially wonderful served warm, but allow it those 10 minutes of cooling time so the crumb can settle.
- Wrap leftovers tightly and enjoy them at room temperature for the next few days.
Cranberry Orange Jam
Yield: 2 cups
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 3½ cups (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
- Zest and juice from 1 orange
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1½ tablespoons low- or no-sugar pectin
Instructions
Combine the ingredients. In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries, orange zest, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, and salt.
Cook the cranberries. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, as the cranberry skins burst and the fruit softens.
Mash the berries. Use a potato masher to smoosh the mixture together. You can leave some cranberry pieces for texture or mash more thoroughly for a smoother spread.
Add the pectin. Add the low- or no-sugar pectin and stir well to combine.
Thicken the jam. Bring the mixture back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring as it thickens.
Cool and store. Remove the jam from the heat and let it cool. This recipe makes about 2 cups, enough to fill two 8-ounce glass jars.
Refrigerate. Store the jam in the refrigerator and use within 3 weeks.
This is refrigerator jam, not shelf-stable canned jam, so keep it chilled. And always use a clean spoon when serving (we want to avoid introducing crumbs, butter, and assorted snack debris into our beautiful berry concoction).
Want a Little Zing?
If you like your holiday flavors with a little sass, add one of these after combining the jam ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon minced candied ginger, for warm, spicy sweetness
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and finely minced, for a bright little kick
If you use jalapeño, wear gloves while handling it. No one wants a festive afternoon interrupted by fiery fingers, my pepper-loving princesses.
How to Serve This Holiday Duo
The obvious answer is to slice the warm bread, spread it with butter, and crown it with cranberry orange jam. That combination is spectacular all by itself.
But our little cranberry creation has range:
Holiday breakfast: Serve warm slices with coffee, tea, yogurt, or scrambled eggs.
Appetizer hour: Spread cream cheese over slices of soda bread and add a spoonful of jam.
Charcuterie board: Pair the bread and jam with brie, bleu cheese, nuts, sliced pears, honey butter, crackers, and chicken pâté.
Turkey sandwich upgrade: Add jam to leftover turkey, along with a little sharp cheese or cream cheese.
Glaze it: Brush the jam over turkey, chicken, pork, or salmon for a sweet-tart finish.
Gift it: Spoon the cooled jam into clean 8-ounce jars, add a label and ribbon, and pair it with a loaf or a few slices of soda bread. For more budget-friendly gifting inspiration, visit our guide to thoughtful and inexpensive hostess gifts.
And if you’re planning a larger holiday menu, our Thanksgiving Recipe Collection is another delicious place to browse.
The Good News and the Bad News
The bad news: This bread is so fragrant that people may wander into your kitchen asking when it will be ready. The jam is so addictive that you may need to label the jar “for guests” to protect it from yourself.
The good news: You can make both recipes with straightforward ingredients, minimal fuss, and no shame if your kitchen gets floury. That’s not a mess. That’s evidence of deliciousness.
Bake the bread. Stir the jam. Invite someone you love. Then sit down with a warm slice and enjoy the kind of holiday treat that feels abundant without being expensive.
Cranberry, orange, crusty bread, glossy jam: holiday magic on a dime.
WP Recipe Maker Block
Cranberry Orange Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 5 cups all-purpose flour divided
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ cup 1 stick cold butter
- 1¾ cups buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat it with nonstick spray.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix 4 cups of the flour, sugar, baking soda, and kosher salt.
- Grate in the cold butter. Using a cheese grater, grate the cold butter directly into the flour mixture. Stir to distribute the butter throughout the flour. This is a marvelous shortcut for working cold butter into dough, especially if you don’t feel like wrestling with a pastry cutter.
- Whisk the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, orange zest, and vanilla extract.
- Make the dough. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until the dough comes together, then add the dried cranberries and stir again.
- The dough will be very sticky. Again: normal. We are not judging the dough at this stage.
- Knead with the remaining flour. Transfer the dough to a floured, flat surface. Sprinkle about ¼ cup of the remaining flour over the dough and begin kneading. Add more flour as needed until the dough is no longer sticky and can be kneaded easily.
- Shape the loaf. Form the dough into a round loaf and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut an X into the top.
- Bake. Bake for 45–55 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool briefly, then slice. Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before serving. It will be warm, fragrant, and begging for butter and jam.
Notes
- Freshly grated orange zest gives the best citrus aroma and flavor.
- Keep the butter cold until you grate it.
- Don’t be shy about flouring your hands and work surface.
- The bread is especially wonderful served warm, but allow it those 10 minutes of cooling time so the crumb can settle.
- Wrap leftovers tightly and enjoy them at room temperature for the next few days.
Cranberry Orange Jam
Ingredients
- 3½ cups 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- Zest and juice from 1 orange
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1½ tablespoons low- or no-sugar pectin
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients. In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries, orange zest, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, and salt.
- Cook the cranberries. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, as the cranberry skins burst and the fruit softens.
- Mash the berries. Use a potato masher to smoosh the mixture together. You can leave some cranberry pieces for texture or mash more thoroughly for a smoother spread.
- Add the pectin. Add the low- or no-sugar pectin and stir well to combine.
- Thicken the jam. Bring the mixture back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring as it thickens.
- Cool and store. Remove the jam from the heat and let it cool. This recipe makes about 2 cups, enough to fill two 8-ounce glass jars.
- Refrigerate. Store the jam in the refrigerator and use within 3 weeks.
Notes
- 1 tablespoon minced candied ginger, for warm, spicy sweetness
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and finely minced, for a bright little kick