This is one of our favorite recipes from Potluck Paradise. Pretty and pink, moist and delicious. It is called a bread, but it is rich enough to be a cake. And the recipe makes five of the mini-loaf pans -- perfect for sharing or parking in the freezer for drop-in summer guests. We're taking samples along to share as we travel on our 2011 Great Potluck Paradise Book Tour of Western Minnesota.
Cherry Nut Bread
1 (10-ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained. Reserve 1/4 cup of the juice
1/2 cup butter or other shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk (skim milk works just fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease five mini-loaf pans. Chop the drained cherries roughly into quarters and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and mix well. Add baking powder and half the flour. Stir in the milk, reserved cherry juice and vanilla. Mix until well blended and then add the remaining flour. Fold in the cherries and nuts. Divide the batter among the pans. Bake until the bread pulls away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Yield: 5 mini-loaf pans of delicious bread!
