Butterscotch Soda Bread

With St. Patrick’s Day (and my husband’s birthday) coming up this week, it’s time to make soda bread! Now, I know it’s not traditional to put butterscotch chips in soda bread, but life is short and sometimes you’ve gotta splurge! Below is my yearly recipe, adapted from (no kidding!) the side of the Friendship buttermilk container!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Butterscotch Soda Bread (makes two generous 9″ x 5″ loaves)

—4 cups all-purpose flour
—1 cup sugar
—2 tsp. baking powder
—1 to 1 1/4 tsp. salt
—1 tsp. baking soda
—1 stick butter, cut into small dice
—16 oz. bag of butterscotch chips
—1 1/2 cups buttermilk
—2 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F for metal loaf pans. Grease and flour the loaf pans. Sift together the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives. Stir in the butterscotch chips to coat them in the flour mixture. Add 1 1/4 cups buttermilk and the eggs to dough and start to combine it gently with a fork or with your hands – if you need the additional 1/4 cup of buttermilk, add it slowly as you work until the dough is moist and coheres, but is also not overworked (it IS a biscuit dough, after all!). Split the dough evenly between the two pans and bake them for 50-55 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. The loaves will be done when a knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Enjoy! (PS: These freeze really well, if you can’t eat two loaves of this in one week……)