Chocolate Chip Cherry Bread -- Something Sweet for the Season That Holds

The kitchen is in full winter mode. The oven at 375 (always 375), the crockpot on the counter, the pantry stocked with jars from last August's canning — the evidence of a woman who preserves summer against winter and loss against forgetting and food against everything.

Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made meatloaf Rogers recipe earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.

The cookie season has ended and the soup season has settled in. The kitchen smells like broth and thyme and the slow simmer of food that takes hours and rewards the hours with warmth. Winter cooking is patient cooking. The patience is Marlene's gift. The cooking is mine.

The soup is simmering and the hotdish is handled and the week is holding its shape — but a kitchen like this one also needs something sweet, something that isn’t about structure or schedule but just about the pleasure of pulling a warm loaf out of the oven. This chocolate chip cherry bread is what I reach for when the savory season has done its work and I want to leave something good on the counter, something that smells like a reward for all that patient winter cooking.

Chocolate Chip Cherry Bread

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup maraschino cherries, drained and roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice (from the jar)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
3. Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and cherry juice until smooth.
4. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — do not overmix; a few lumps are fine.
5. Fold in add-ins. Gently fold in the chopped maraschino cherries and chocolate chips, distributing them evenly through the batter.
6. Bake. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50–60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
7. Cool. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 210mg