It’s November, and now that Halloween is over, get ready to brace yourself for the full onslaught of the commercial holiday season. Christmas items are already filling the shelves and Santa Claus is showing up on the television. I really have to try not to get too carried away or fall and all its smells, sights, and sounds will pass by before I can enjoy them.
I believe in buying my Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, and waiting until December to start the Christmas holiday baking, which includes Fruitcake. Yes, that’s what I said. I am a fruitcake fan, but not the prepackaged kind that’s shaped like a brick, but real homemade more-fruit-and-nuts-than-cake fruitcake. And I will share my favorite fruitcake recipe for my fellow fruitcake fans in December.
Even though I will sneak a few Christmas songs onto my iPod this month and definitely start my shopping, I plan to bake a lot of pumpkin-y, cinnamon-y, nutty things that remind me that it is still fall. And if I start to feel a little wistful for some of that fruitcake, this Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread will surely tide me over until December.
This loaf from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice combines the flavors of cranberry and walnut with a touch of citrus flavor that reminds me a little of my favorite fruitcake, but can still be very fitting for the fall. So, celebrate by baking some great bread filled with delicious fall ingredients and enjoy the season.
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Shortbread 