Cherry Chocolate Chunk Mini Loaves

I needed something sweet and portable for the week and was going through my print outs and mag rip outs and saw this recipe from Post Punk Kitchen - I didn't have all of the ingredients she called for so here is my loosely based version.

• 1/2 cup applesauce
•  1/4 cup natural peanut butter
•  1/3 cup cocoa powder
•  1/3 cup original, light, soy milk
•  boiling water, divided
•  3/4 cup white sugar
•  2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
•  3/4 teaspoon salt
•  1/2 cup chocolate chunks, check the ingredients to see that they are vegan
•  1 cup chopped sweet cherries (thawed if using frozen)

Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly spray mini loaf pans with cooking spray (I have 6 - so I had leftover batter that made 12 mini muffins.) Also, boil some water in a tea kettle (no need to measure yet.) Put applesauce, peanut butter, milk and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl.

Measure out 1/3 cup boiling water and pour into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, mixing quickly with a whisk to make a thick chocolate sauce. Add sugar and extract and mix well.

Sift about half of the flour, along with the baking soda and salt, into the chocolate mixture, and gently stir just to incorporate, then measure out 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir again. Now add the rest of the flour mixture and another tablespoon of boiling water and stir just until smooth. Take care not to overmix.

Fold in the chocolate chunks and the cherries.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pans, about 3/4 of the way.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes. The tops should be puffy and firm. Stick a tooth pick into the center of the loaf to check for doneness. A little bit of wetness is okay since it could be from a chocolate chunk or a cherry, but it should come out mostly dry. Let cool for 10 minutes, then invert pan and place loaves on a cooling rack to cool some of the way. It’s yummy when still a bit warm, with the chocolate chunks oozy and melty.

Wrap extra loaves and mini muffins in plastic wrap to keep from drying out. If not using within a day, refrigerate wrapped loaves.