Mini Paleo Cranberry Tea Bread
Ok… have we all been SLEEPIN’ on tea bread or what!??!! I 100% forgot about it until I was brainstorming recipes with my mom and she sent me a photo of a SUPER old classic tea bread recipe we used to make when I was little. Right then I knew I HAD to try to remake it with all of my changes to make it paleo and Specific Carbohydrate Diet friendly. I love tea bread because it’s super moist (sorry not sorry I had to use that word), it has a very unique taste, and it isn’t too sweet.
Why make a mini loaf? Mostly because I’m trying to be very careful with ingredients during quarantine so I don’t have to order groceries or go to the store often at all! If you don’t have a mini bread pan you can order these from amazon or just use muffin tins and make a few muffins instead (I would cut the time down by half and keep checking after that to see how well it’s cooking - I didn’t experiment with muffins!).
And YES tea bread DOES indeed have actual tea in it! I think there’s something about tea bread that not only brings me back to childhood because my mom used to make it for us when we were younger, but because my tea-drinking addiction started when I was little. Tea was something my mom and I always shared in together - from tea parties, to tea being the first thing offered when I was sad, to daily tea and chats together after school. Tea brings back so many memories and this paleo tea bread brings all of them back too.
I think that’s why I love food so much - not because of the food ITSELF necessarily, but because it has the power to bring back memories and bring people together. The years I struggled with an eating disorder (you can read more about my story here) I completely lost that joy - the joy of social connection over food, the snacks at family gatherings, the warm and fuzzy feelings at Thanksgiving dinner, the baking parties with my roommates in college, a bowl of acai on vacation… The joy was taken from all of it, so I think now, being recovered, I find extra joy + memories within my food and recipes.
I get even MORE happiness from recreating old recipes now because of the years I didn’t let myself enjoy food, even when tied to tradition or memories.
This mini paleo cranberry tea bread is sure to bring you joy with each yummy bite! Try drizzling with melted coconut butter, slathered with nut butter or dipped in a cup of tea!
XO nat
Mini Paleo Cranberry Tea Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup +2 Tbsp almond flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup pure cranberry juice (no sugar added) - can substitute tart cherry juice
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 black tea bags
- 3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries (make sure to check that there is no sugar added)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a mini bread pan (5 1/2" x 3" x 2 1/4" high) by “greasing” with coconut oil or lining with parchment paper.
- Heat your 1/3 cup of water until boiling. Steep the two black tea bags in it for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, honey, cranberry juice, melted coconut oil and pure vanilla extract. Once the tea is done steeping, add in the tea as well.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add in the dried cranberries and mix again.
- Place batter in the prepared pan and bake for 60-65 minutes (YUP that’s long I KNOW)
- Let cool, slice, serve (try drizzling it with melted coconut butter!) and enjoy!