Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10x5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Coarsely chop the cranberries. Stir them together with 1 cup of the sugar; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Add the sugared cranberries and the melted butter and stir until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar.
Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
If using frozen cranberries, do not thaw before roughly chopping them.My preferred coarse sugar for topping muffins and breads is Sugar in the Raw Turbinado Cane Sugar.If you do not have a 10x5-inch loaf pan, you can divide the batter between two greased and lined 8x4-inch loaf pans and bake them for 65-70 minutes.