Orange Chocolate Chip Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: one hour, five minutes

Ingredients:

one navel orange
1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons or one stick) butter
1/2 cup orange marmalade
three cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
one Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
one cup chilled semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
two massive eggs
1/2 cup milk mixed with the juice of half of the orange
.
Optional Orange Glaze:
one cup confectioners' powdered sugar
one to two Tablespoons orange juice

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with vegetable spray.

Use a microplane or fine grater to remove the zest (rind) from the orange. You ought to have about one tablespoon of finely grated orange zest. Cut the orange in half & add the juice from half in to the milk. Reserve the other half for the orange glaze, if using.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, & salt in a massive bowl. Toss the chocolate chips to coat with the flour. Set aside.

Place butter & orange marmalade in a heat-proof bowl & microwave on high for 45 to 60 seconds (or melt in a saucepan). Stir to merge & let cold.

Add cooled buttered marmalade, egg mixture, & orange zest to the flour mixture. Stir with a dinner fork until combined but do not overmix. Any lumps will smooth out in the baking.

Beat eggs with milk/orange juice mixture, using a dinner fork.

Optional Orange Glaze:
Whisk one to two Tablespoons of orange juice with one cup powdered sugar to a drizzling consistency. Spoon in to a zip-top bag, squeeze out the air, & seal. Snip off small corner of the bag & use as a pastry bag to drizzle the cooled orange marmalade bread with the glaze.

Pour in to prepared pan. Bake for one hour, until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out neat. Cold to room temperature before slicing to serve.

Yield: one loaf