Cherry Bread

This bread is amazingly good. I love the cherry-almond combination. Ignore the hole in the top. I have a bunch of boys in the house that enjoy "helping" me cook. I made this for Valentine's Day. I need to use any excuse I can get to have some pink in this house full of males! So I took this excuse and ran with it! Pink bread with pink frosting! It was great!

 

Cherry Almond Bread

1 3/4 c. flour

1 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/2 c. oil

1 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla

10-12 oz. jar maraschino cherries

cherry juice drained from jar

Drain the juice from the jar of cherries and set it aside. Chop the cherries up - I cut them each into quarters. Place them in a small bag and add 1-2 Tbsp. flour, then shake the bag to coat the cherries. This should keep them from sticking together in the batter. In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center and add eggs, oil, and flavorings. Reserve about 1/4 c. of the cherry juice for the glaze, add the rest into the bread batter. Stir to combine ingredients, but don't over mix. When the ingredients are mixed together, add the cherries and stir them in. Pour batter into a greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for abut 50 minutes or until the edges are golden and the top springs back to the touch. Allow to cool before adding glaze.

Glaze:

1/4 c. cherry juice reserved from above

1 tsp. almond extract

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

In a small bowl add the cherry juice, almond extract, and about 1 c. powdered sugar. Stir. Add more powdered sugar until it is the desired consistency - just remember this is a glaze, not a frosting. Pour over the cooled bread.