Cranberry banana bread

I love cranberries and for whatever reason, this time of the year especially, the idea of warm cranberry nut bread on a cold homey day makes me happy. My mom always made cranberry nut bread with orange zest and juice and I loved it. Last night I tried another twist on cranberry nut bread, inspired by Skinnytaste, and added bananas. While not your traditional pairing, it's pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Give it a try the next time you get a hankering!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp water
• baking spray
• 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
• 2 large egg whites
• 3 ripe bananas, lightly mashed
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbsp turbinado sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. 1. In a small saucepan combine the cranberries water and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until the cranberries burst, about 4 minutes.
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3. 2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a loaf pan with baking spray.
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5. 3. In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
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7. 4. Add flour, baking soda and salt and blend at low speed until combined, do not over mix.
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9. 5. Fold in cranberries and pour batter into the prepared loaf pan; sprinkle with turbinado sugar on top (optional) and bake in the center rack for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
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11. FYI: I doubled the recipe and made a batch into muffins to throw in the freezer for weekday snacks. The muffins took about 20 min.
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13. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the pan cool at least 25 minutes, if you can wait that long, bread should ideally be room temperature before slicing.