MOIST. Does that word make you cringe? Sorry about that. It looks especially bad when it’s in CAPS, huh?

The word MOIST doesn’t bother me for some reason. I do, however, cringe at the words ointment and discharge but that’s a completely different blog post altogether. To cater to the moist haters, I tried searching on the Google machine for some synonyms and what I found just doesn’t cut it.

I wouldn’t call this Pear Cranberry Walnut Bread humid, drizzly, soggy, misty, mushy or clammy. It’s just dense, sturdy and moist- everything I like in a sweet breakfast/snack bread.

Sweet pears make up most of the liquid base. Cranberries add a little tartness and a pop of color. Walnuts provide good crunch and the lemon zest adds a little perfume into the bread. It’s no surprise that a loaf didn’t last 24 hours in the Shutterbean household.

And we’re off!

Ingredient gathering. It’s what I do…

Pear grating. Look at all that juice!

Wet ingredients.

Meet dry ingredients.

Stir & stir. Chop nuts.

Nuts & cranberries. Fold.

Hello loaf pan. Hello batter in loaf pan.  It’s bake time!

Pear Cranberry Walnut Bread perfection!

Pear Cranberry Walnut bread is an ideal host/hostess gift for the upcoming holiday season.

I know I’d love a loaf…

Pear Cranberry Walnut Bread

makes 10-12 servings

(recipe adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups grated peeled ripe pears, with juice (about 2 pears)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5 inch (8-cup) loaf pan and set aside. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together egg, oil, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and grated pears. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until three quarters of the dry ingredients are moistened. Add pecans and cranberries and gently fold until all dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5-10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on a rack.