Chocolate Cherry Bread

This bread machine loaf is more dessert than sandwich bread. Chocolate chips and dried cherries stud a wheat-blend dough that’s sweetened with molasses and spiked with Triple Sec and orange zest. Every slice has pockets of melted chocolate alongside chewy, tart cherry bits with a warm citrus undertone.

The molasses does more than sweeten. It gives the crumb a dark, almost pumpernickel-like color and a deep, bittersweet flavor that pairs naturally with the chocolate and dried fruit. Skim milk powder adds richness without the liquid, keeping the dough ratio balanced for the machine.

Triple Sec and orange zest together create a double hit of orange flavor. The liqueur adds boozy warmth that bakes off mostly but leaves its fragrance, while the zest gives sharper, fresher citrus notes in the finished bread.

Pro Tips

• Add the chocolate chips and dried cherries at the beep if your machine has a mix-in cycle. Adding them at the start can cause them to break down too much during kneading.
• Dried tart cherries work best here. Sweet cherries won’t have enough acidity to balance the chocolate and molasses.
• The Triple Sec contributes liquid, so don’t add extra water thinking the dough looks dry. Trust the recipe measurements.
• This bread toasts beautifully. The chocolate chips re-melt and the cherries warm through.

Variations

• Dark chocolate cranberry: Swap the cherries for dried cranberries and use dark chocolate chips for a sharper, more bittersweet loaf.
• Non-alcoholic: Replace the Triple Sec with orange juice concentrate for the citrus flavor without the alcohol.