Cherry Pistachio Bread -- A Loaf Made with the Same Love I Put Into Those Biscuits

Two weeks until Christmas and I have biscuits figured out. Six batches over two weeks, each one slightly different, and batch five was the one. I cannot tell you exactly what is different about batch five from batch four except that batch five tastes like something worth repeating. The fat ratio changed, the fold changed slightly, I worked the dough a little less. It is not Tyler grandmother recipe because I never had Tyler grandmother recipe. But I think it is something in the same neighborhood. A biscuit that means something.

I am going to make a card that says I have your grandmother biscuit recipe and I am going to make it every Sunday morning for the rest of our lives. I do not actually have her recipe. I have a biscuit that might feel like her recipe to him. Whether it does or does not, the offer is the same. Breakfast for the rest of your life from someone who loves you. That is a real thing to give someone.

Gloria and Destiny sent me a Christmas card. Destiny drew on the envelope. Flowers, I think, though they might be suns. Gloria signed both names in her handwriting and wrote under them, We love you, Savannah. Simple and direct. Gloria does not use unnecessary words. When she uses them they mean exactly what they say. I put the card on my refrigerator in the center.

All that testing and folding and measuring taught me something this season: the best food you make is the food you make on purpose, for someone specific. The biscuits are Tyler’s. But this cherry pistachio bread — with its bright red cherries and that little crunch of green pistachio — felt like it belonged to the whole season, to Gloria and Destiny and the card on my refrigerator and all of it. It is the kind of loaf you slice and share, and sharing it feels like saying the same thing Gloria wrote in that card: simple, direct, and meaning exactly what it says.

Cherry Pistachio Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes | Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup maraschino cherries, drained, patted dry, and roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and lightly dust with flour, or line with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. A few small lumps are fine.
5. Fold in the mix-ins. Gently fold in the chopped cherries and pistachios, distributing them evenly through the batter.
6. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50–55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden.
7. Cool. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 285 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 39g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 160mg