Cherry Almond Bread

We all exchange little holiday gifts at work this time of year.  I have made this bread in the past and brought it in and it is gone within literally minutes, so this year I thought I'd make everyone a mini loaf with a pretty red ceramic mini loaf pan it was baked in because it looked so festive to me.  The bread calls for red maraschino cherries, but at Christmas I mix them with the unflavored green ones if I can find them to make it ever more holidayish..new word in my vocabulary only.  I hope they bake okay in the oven..might have to rotate them or bake them longer..we'll see..keeping my fingers crossed. 

Here is the recipe..you can make 8 mini loaves or 2 regular sized loaves with it..I always use the disposable aluminum mini loaf pans (and rewash them), because it bakes better in them and they pop out easier.

CHERRY ALMOND BREAD:

mix in the order given..I use the hand mixer once I get everything in the bowl to make sure it's blended well and then add the cut up cherries and almonds and hand stir those in..

2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1 can Solo almond FILLING, NOT PASTE-you will find it by the poppyseed filling etc
1/4 cup of the juice drained from the cherries
1 regular size can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup maraschino cherries cut up in smaller pieces-I use a scissors

spray pans with cooking spray (I usually cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom so it doesn't stick when removing, but if you spray it good it should be okay.)  Bake at 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until center is baked-test with a toothpick-shouldn't come out gummy.  Let them cool for about 20 minutes on a rack before trying to remove from pans and loosen sides with a butter knife.