Chocolate Cherry Breakfast Loaf Recipe

If you like a sweet bread, such as raisin bread or biscotti, with your morning coffee or tea, try this delicious breakfast bread. The filling is almost like a brownie with dried cherries, walnuts, and miniature chocolate chips for added decadence. Instead of hassling with making a yeast dough, this recipe begins with refrigerated crescent rolls. The result is impressive, and it tastes even better than it looks.

See Also

Bread Recipes

Cherry Cooking Tips and Recipes

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick or 1/4 cup) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, Ghiradelli preferred
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
• 2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes

• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 2 loaves

Preparation

Coat two 9-inch loaf pans with butter-flavored vegetable spray.

Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl, whisk cocoa powder into the melted butter until no lumps remain. Beat vanilla extract into the room-temperature eggs with a fork, then whisk into the cocoa butter mixture until smooth. (It's important that the eggs be at room temperature. If they are cold, the butter will clump up, and it will be hard to get the mixture smooth.)

Add the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

This may take some effort, but resist the urge to add any liquid. Keep folding and mashing the mixture with a spatula until it becomes an even dough, like cookie dough or stiff brownie batter. It will be very thick.

Open one can of the crescent rolls. On a lightly floured board, place the perforated rectangles next to each other, overlapping edges to make 1 large rectangle. Press edges and perforations closed. Top with an even layer of half of the chocolate dough, leaving 1-inch empty space along the upper long side of the crescent dough rectangle. (This will take a bit of patience. I use the back-side of a silicone spatula to pat and gently spread the dough into an even layer.) Sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips, dried cherries, and chopped walnuts.

Beginning with the long edge closest to you, roll the dough jelly-roll-style into a long log. Place in prepared loaf pan. Repeat with the second can of crescent rolls.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake loaves for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature if you are going to apply icing.

(Icing is not recommended if you plan on toasting this bread as it will melt off.)

For the Icings:
Plain Glaze: Whisk just enough heavy cream or milk into the powdered sugar to make an icing that is thick enough drizzle. Scrape into a small zip-top bag, squeeze out all the air, and seal. Snip off one tiny corner of the bag and drizzle the tops of the loaves.

Chocolate Icing: Heat chocolate chips and butter in the top of a double-boiler or microwave in 30 second increments. Stir often until smooth and combined. Scrape into a new zip-top bag and use it to drizzle crosswise over the loaves.

Let the loaves sit in a cool place until the icing sets and becomes firm. Slice 1-inch thick to serve.

Yield: 2 loaves
_{Chocolate Cherry Breakfast Loaf Recipe Photo © 2014 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

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