BISHOP'S BREAD
This is a favorite recipe for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, that goes way back into the late 60s in our family. I believe my mom found it in a McCall's magazine, but I haven't been able to corroborate that. I do know that there are similar recipes on the internet, if you Google the name, but so far I haven't found any exactly the same. THIS IS NOT FRUITCAKE.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups sifted flour
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup glazed chocolate chips
- 2 cups chopped walnuts (or other nuts of your choice)
- 1 cup halved maraschino cherries (or other candied fruit)
- 1 cup finely-snipped dates
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 10"x5"x3" loaf pan (or 3-4 "tiny" loaf pans) well, then line bottom with waxed paper.
- Sift flour into bowl, then add baking powder and salt.
- Stir chips, nuts, dates, and cherries into flour mixture, coating all pieces well.
- Beat eggs in LARGE bowl. Gradually beat sugar into eggs.
- Fold flour mixture into egg mixture. Pour entire mixture into prepared loaf pan(s). If you use the "tiny" pans, each one should be filled about 1/2 - 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake for 1-1/2 hours, or until done (a toothpick inserted into the center should come out ALMOST clean...don't overdo it). Turn loaf (loaves) out of pan(s) onto cooling rack, and cool thoroughly. Wrap well, and store. The Bishop's Bread gains flavor after a day or two of refrigerated storage. It also freezes well.
Notes
You can get really creative with this recipe. If you don't like semi-sweet chocolate morsels, try dark ones or milk chocolate ones. Or use things like butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips. If you don't want to use nuts, try things like pumpkin or sunflower seeds (to get a bit of a crunch). For the cherries and dates, try any type of candied or dried fruits.
The main thing you are shooting for is a mix of chocolate and sweet, candied fruit, with none of the liquored-up taste of fruitcake. The texture of the "bread" will also be completely different than a fruitcake texture...more like fruity, nutty brownies.
Have fun, and enjoy!