Christmas Cranberry Swirl Bread

Christmas is here and I offered to bring the bread for our family 

Christmas Eve Dinner.

The perfect bread for such an occasion is a festive

Cranberry Swirl Bread.

There are several recipes on Pinterest for this bread.
There is also a version of this from Taste of Home from Darlene Brenden.
I modified the bread part of the recipe by using frozen bread dough
 instead of making my own bread.
This makes it very fast and easy and it still looks fabulous!
The cranberry swirl makes this bread irresistible!

I started with a frozen leaf of yeast bread and let it rise according to the package directions.

Cranberry Filling 
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cranberries
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a sauce pan, I prepared the delicious cranberry filling.

Combine cranberries, brown sugar, cornstarch and water. 

Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and cranberries burst, 10-15 minutes. 

Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and walnuts, cool.

TOPPING:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon cold butter.

 In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in 1 tablespoon butter until crumbly.

Punch down the dough and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 10×20 inch rectangle. Spread the filling to within 1/2 inch of edges. 

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. 

 Transfer, seam side down, to a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan, 

arranging in a zigzag fashion to fit. 

 Melt 1 tablespoon butter; brush over dough. 

Sprinkle with crumb mixture. 

 Cover with a towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Festive and delicious!

All eight of our grandchildren.