Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Bread

I love flipping through the Penzeys catalogue for the recipes and found this one last week.  This bread would be absolutely perfect in the Fall, but my feeling is there's never a wrong time to eat pumpkin!  I really liked the hint of orange, but the second loaf (the recipe makes two) started drying out after a couple of days so I'd make sure to have enough people to share the bread with, or go ahead and stick a loaf in the freezer for another time.
  

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. grated orange rind

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin purée

1 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice


Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine the dry ingredients and set aside. 
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one. Add the vanilla, pumpkin and dry mixture approximately 1/2 cup at a time, alternating between the pumpkin and dry mixture until all is combined. Stir in the cranberries and nuts. 
Divide the batter between two 8x41/2-inch greased and floured loaf pans and bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes.