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Cranberry Banana Bread – Food Fun Friday

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Cranberry Banana Bread - This banana bread is super moist and will melt in your mouth.
I don’t remember baking much with my mom when I was kid. She was working hard to support our family and if I am being honest, she is just not a baker. She can cook Italian food like nobody’s business though. Baking however has never really been her thing. I love baking, and love it even more when I can do it with my kids. It is an opportunity to teach them a recipe, learn to follow directions, and work on our patience as we wait for our creations to bake. This family friendly recipe offers a twist on traditional banana bread. I added cranberries and white chocolate chips, which are two of my favorite cookie ingredients. I used applesauce in place of butter to make this a little healthier. You can do this without missing any flavor or moistness. This Cranberry Banana Bread will almost melt in your mouth. It is that good!

You will need:
  • 1/2 cup of applesauce (I used unsweetened applesauce)
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 mashed bananas
  • 1 1/2 cups of flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Ingredients for banana bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the applesauce and sugar in a medium bowl.
kids in the kitchen
Mix the applesauce and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
child making banana bread
You will need 4 mashed bananas for the Cranberry Banana Bread. The most kid friendly way I have found to mash bananas is to place them in a zip top bag and let your child crush it with their fists.
kids recipes
This was so fun for my daughter and it gets out any aggression you might be feeling. I may have to try this banana smashing method myself the next time I feel stressed out!
child mashing bananas
When the bananas are completely mashed, add them to the applesauce and sugar mixture along with two eggs. Stir until thoroughly combined. 
In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 
baking cranberry banana bread
Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and add the vanilla.
kids cooking
Add the dried cranberries.

banana bread recipe
Add the white chocolate chips. 

recipe for cranberry banana bread
Stir until all the ingredients are combined.
baking with kids
This required quite a bit of work on my daughter’s part. After a few minutes, she said her arm was tired so I took over. 
Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Check on your banana bread while it is baking. After 40 minutes the top of mine was fairly brown, but the inside was still wet when I poked it with a toothpick. I covered the top with foil for the remainder of the cook time.
kids can cook
Let the Cranberry Banana Bread cool for few minutes, and then remove it from the loaf pan and enjoy. My daughter had two helpings at snack time. I limited myself to one, but it wasn’t easy. This banana bread is so moist and delicious. The cranberries add a nice chewiness and flavor.
easy banana bread
This bread would also be great with some chopped nuts, I am thinking walnuts or pecans. If you don’t have dried cranberries, try the recipe with raisins. 

kid made banana bread
For more fun ways to bake with kids, check out:
          Irish Soda Bread                                      Soft Pretzels with Butter
       
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Vicky

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Comments

  2. rednest says

    I have made cranberry orange bread a number of times, but never cranberry banana! Have pinned this to my baking board! Maureen from redcottagechronicles.

    Reply

  7. themondaybox.com says

    I used to cook and bake with my kids all the time when they were younger. Though the mess was greater and the time to make anything took longer, the results were more than worth it. We had fun together, creating happy memories and now both of my "kids" (now young adults) are very comfortable cooking and baking in their own kitchens! White chocolate and cranberries are some of my favorite cookie ingredients too! What a delicious add-in for banana bread!

    Reply

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