Chocolate-Cherry-Walnut Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into thin slices
• grated rind from 1 orange
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Lightly coat a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse crumbs. Mix in the orange rind, cherries, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Stir in the milk, eggs, and vanilla until well blended.
3. Pour into pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack.
4. Variations: Substitute any of the following, using the same amounts: dried cranberries instead of dried cherries; white chocolate chips instead of semisweet chocolate; pecans, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts instead of walnuts.

Posted in: Chocolate Recipes