Michigan Cherry Zucchini Bread

I really like cherries and dried cherries so I thought I would experiment with some zucchini bread with some cherries.  Hope you like it.

It's similar to other zucchini recipes except I added the tart dried cherries to the mix along with some chopped walnuts.

Grate the zucchini first so it will have time to drain all the liquid off.  I let it sit for a few minutes and then squeeze it some more to get all the extra moisture out.  You don't want your bread to be mushy.

Melt 2/3 c of butter.  Let it cool before you add it to the mix.

Cream 2 eggs with 1 1/3 c sugar.

Nice and frothy.

Add the melted butter to the sugar mixture.

Squeeze out the extra liquid before adding the zucchini.

Throw it into the sugar mixture.

Add 2 t baking soda, 1/2 t nutmeg and 2 t cinnamon to the batter.

Add 3 cups of all purpose flour one at a time.  Mix well and scrap down the sides after each cup.

The dried cherries were a little bigger than the cranberries so I wanted to chop them.  I decided to try out my ulu.  My boys brought me back the ulu from their Alaska trip.  It really did the job well.  I have it on good authority that the ulu is also good for cutting off corn.  Just be careful and not cut yourself because the blade is sharp.

The ulu was also good for cutting the walnuts up too.

Mix the fruit and nuts up well in the batter.

 Grease and flour two loaf pans.  You can also use small pans.  Not sure how many of the small ones it will take at least 4 if not 5.  Divide the batter between the two pans.  Put into a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for at least one hour.  I always check after 50 minutes.

Two golden loaves of cherry zucchini bread.