Cherry Chocolate Chip Bread

Cherry Chocolate Chip Bread, originally uploaded by carriemcm.

It all started last week when I bought a bag of cherries, an innocuous purchase, or so I thought. The gorgeous bag of cherries quickly turned into The Cherry Dilemma: what is one person to do with so many cherries?

They were delicious- juicy and sweet with an ever so slight tart tang. A few days and a few handfuls didn't make a dent in the bottomless bag of cherries, so I turned to friends and the internet for ideas. I found there are surprisingly few recipes featuring fresh cherries, most call for the jarred or dried variety. And so it was with a leap of faith that I decided to re-work my favorite banana bread recipe into cherry bread. Then I remembered one of my favorite icecream flavor combinations: cherries & chocolate. Cherry bread evolved into cherry chocolate chip bread.

I had originally thought all my friends were going to be receiving a loaf of my experimental bread, but once pitted (my fingernails were stained red for days) the yield was far less than I expected. It was just enough to produce twin loaves. However, as you can see, the loaves are most certainly fraternal twins. The first loaf was the guinea pig, and though it left half it's goodness in the bottom of the pan, it paved the way for a near perfectly formed second loaf.

With crumbs on the keyboard and chocolate on my fingers I cross #79 off my list: what to do with way too many cherries.