Cinnamon Raisin Bread

When I first met Paul, I really couldn't stand raisins, I hated cinnamon raisin bagels, raisin bran, you name it. As we progressed on our blog, both of our foodie tastes expanded and I gradually allowed those little wrinkled grapes into my cooking repertoire.

Nowadays, I can't get enough of this little bursts of tart sweetness. Right now, I have some currants, sultanas and raisins slowly sozzling in an apple brandy and cointreau bath, langurously waiting to be stirred in a christmas pudding in a few days.

Dried fruit is great for people watching their sugar intake as it provides a desirable level of sweetness to cookies or baked goods that you would seek in a bar of chocolate otherwise. Sure, they still have sugar but they are (fairly) unrefined. And I don't mean that in an anti-Coco Chanel type way.