Leftovers--Sweet Potato~Cranberry bread

Leftovers are inevitable at our house; I've always cooked like I'm still in a big family.  I remember the first time I made my mother's recipe for spaghetti for dinner.  We ate spaghetti for  almost a week!  But, like my mother, I can't seem to throw anything out and always find a new recipe to make from the abundance.  By the way, with the spaghetti, spaghetti pie was created.

Now, for Thanksgiving, I made a large casserole of sweet potatoes with dried cranberries and mini ginger chips.  It was delicious, but I had leftovers.

This morning I "remade" the sweet potatoes into Sweet Potato~Cranberry Bread.  The good thing is that it made two large loaves and I was able to share one with a dear friend.   I baked a similar recipe with my sister last Thanksgiving, but we made muffins with the batter.  Either way, using leftovers in a new way makes me think of my Mom and how economical she was.  I think she would be proud I listened and learned.

Sweet Potato~Cranberry Bread

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed, light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
3 cups King Arthur All-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup Ginger mini chips (optional, but really good)

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray two 5" x 9" loaf pans with a baking spray (or use can use muffin pans)
In the bowl of the KitchenAid, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well between the additions.  Add the mashed sweet potatoes and beat to incorporate.  Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the batter, alternating with the apple cider (or juice).  Beat only to combine.  Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.  Stir in the cranberries and Ginger mini chips, if using.

  Spoon into the prepared pans. and smooth the tops.

Bake in the preheated oven 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.  If the tops are browning too fast, you can lower the temperature to 325F-degrees.  Let cool about 10 minutes before turning out.  I decided to add a simple glaze, but you could also just dust with confectioner's sugar.
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. hot water
Mix all the ingredients together.  Drizzle the smooth glaze over the loaves.

This bread had a wonderful spicy flavor and the richness of the sweet potatoes made it moist.  This would be great as a breakfast treat or with a tea break in the afternoon (after shoveling snow!)
 Creating new recipes with leftovers makes me smile and I hope this bread brings a smile to you and your family.  Enjoy!