Cranberry Cream Cheese Bread
This cranberry cream cheese bread is unbelievably soft, rich, and perfectly balanced with sweet-tart cranberries. With a creamy cheesecake-style center and a tender crumb, it’s the kind of loaf that disappears fast. Perfect for holidays, brunch, or gifting to neighbors!
Ingredients
For the Bread Batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups fresh or dried cranberries
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease or line a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients just until mixed. Fold in cranberries.
- In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour half the bread batter into the loaf pan.
- Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the batter.
- Top with remaining batter and gently smooth.
- Bake 55–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Cool completely before slicing for clean layers.
Recipe Details
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 60 minutes
Servings: 8–10 slices
Storage Tips
- Store refrigerated up to 5 days.
- Freeze slices individually up to 2 months.
- Best served slightly warmed.
Why Everyone Loves This Bread
This loaf is soft, creamy, slightly tangy, and perfectly sweet. The cranberry bursts balance the rich cream cheese center, making it ideal for holidays, gifting, or cozy breakfasts.
