Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with some Cranberry Walnut Irish Soda Bread slathered with cinnamon honey butter.
Can you believe it’s already March?! Time is sure flying by this year. Before ya know it spring will be here (thank goodness!). The 10 day forecast says that it’s going to get up to 67 next week!!! It’s been in the 20’s and 30’s so I’m pretty excited. Plus, Nick will be on spring break so we’ll be able to go out during the day as a family and enjoy the nice weather. Sadly though he will still be studying most of the break since he takes the boards in two months. We’re both really looking forward to the month he has off between boards and beginning rotations. But until then, I’ll continue to occupy my time with blogging while he is studying all day and night.
So St. Patty’s Day is coming up in a few weeks. I love all the cute green treats but I’m trying to cut back (just slightly) on the sweets so I thought I’d tap into more the the Irish side of the holiday with soda bread.
Irish soda bread is a large loaf of bread that uses baking soda as the leavening agent instead of yeast. You don’t have to wait for the yeast to activate and rise or knead the dough. You mix the dry ingredients with the wet like a quick bread, form it into a ball, bake it, and enjoy. Easy peasy!
The other day at Costco I tried a sample (I really made sure to try all the samples) of some of the baker’s cranberry walnut bread (regular bread made with yeast) and decided that I needed to make a soda bread version… so voila!
Since I was planning to have this for breakfast I decided to make it a little healthier by using some whole wheat flour and throwing in some oats. It turned out awesome! Especially when warm and slathered with some cinnamon honey butter. You can even pop it in the toaster the next day and it’s just as delicious. Cranberry Walnut Irish Soda Bread is such a quick and yummy breakfast or snack.
Cranberry Walnut Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup old fashion oats
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons butter diced
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup walnuts chopped
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 2 eggs beaten
For the Cinnamon Honey Butter:
- 5 tablespoons butter room temperature
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the bread:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease an oven proof skillet or baking sheet.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the cranberries and walnuts with 2 tablespoons flour. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix flours, oats, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix the butter in on low speed.
- Mix the buttermilk and eggs together and then stream into the dry ingredients while mixing on low until almost combined. Add the cranberries and walnuts you mixed with flour and mix until just combined (you don't want to overwork the dough).
- Empty dough onto a floured surface and form into a round loaf. With a serrated knife, cut an X into the top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until done. Bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
For the Cinnamon Honey Butter:
- Whip butter, honey, and cinnamon together until evenly combined.
Recipe Source: Adapted from Ina Garten and Healthy-Delicious
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