Cinnamon-Spice Bread
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 60 minutes | Cooling Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes | Serves: 10
(Yes, I totally cheated here… I allowed the bread to cool for maybe five minutes instead of the full 20 and even once this warm, soft, aromatic loaf was turned out on my cutting board, I immediately took a serrated knife to it, with butter at hand ready to spread and melt and seep into the spiced heaven.) But who can blame me?? It was absolutely amazing. Can you tell?
The ingredients listed below are pretty common. Hopefully, you’ll be able to get your hands on whatever you may need so you get to work on a delicious loaf of goodness in your own home. It is a quick bread, (hallelujah!), and very easy to pull together. So, why not? It’s a perfect gift for any occasion (not just Christmas gifting). Saying, “Thank you,” to your host or welcoming a friend’s new baby into the world are just a couple of reasons to make this awesome bread. Just thinking about the smell is motivating me to bake this again (which I actually did that day!). It’s that good.
Want to learn more about cinnamon? It is one of the most popular spices and is used almost worldwide. Here is a great article on the various qualities of cinnamon from the inexpensive, common bottle or bag found in your general grocery store, versus the more expensive, prized cinnamon called Ceylon. Healthline.com also explains the health benefits of consuming this fragrant spice. It’s good for you and tastes delicious… sounds like a good reason to make this Cinnamon-Spice Bread!
I used a standard 9×5” loaf pan, but you can bake multiple smaller loaves instead. Just divide your batter amongst your greased mini loaf pans and reduce your cooking time. I thought this was perfect on its own, but the glaze was my daughter’s idea… and a great idea it was!
Room-temperature ingredients will allow the batter to come together quicker and with less mixing, so you don’t overmix your batter. It’s worth the extra time to let it come to room termp on our counter.
I used heavy cream in the glaze to get it nice and thick, but then added a small amount of milk to barely thin it out to where it would drizzle nicely. You can adjust as you like. Maybe do not add any milk at all and spread the glaze over the top. There’s some room to fudge here.
This recipe was inspired by The Southern Lady Cooks’ Cinnamon Bread. She makes her own “cinnamon chips,” which sounds really interesting. Check out her site. She posts recipes that are very reminiscent of my childhood, which I just love!
Enjoy!
Cinnamon-Spice Bread
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, (canola, avocado, vegetable...)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
Cinnamon-Spice Mixture:
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, light or dark
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- few drops of vanilla extract clear vanilla or regular vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5” loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the Cinnamon-Spice Mixture ingredients and set aside.
- In a separate medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, add the butter and both sugars and combine on medium-low for 1 minute.
- Add the oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Turn the mixer off and add the flour mixture. Mix on low to combine.
- Keeping the mixer on low, add the buttermilk and allow the batter to combine until no more flour is seen.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and using a spatula, stir any flour that may have been stuck in the bottom of the bowl.
- Pour about 1/3 of the batter into the greased loaf pan. Sprinkle about a third of the Cinnamon-Spice Mixture over the batter. Continue to layer two more times.
- Using a spoon handle, swirl the layers together just to create a swirled effect, not completely combine.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, checking for doneness at 50 minutes if the top looks dry. (Insert a toothpick in the center of the loaf. If there is wet batter, cook for another few minutes. If a few crumbs are attached, perfect, time to remove from the oven.)
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Carefully turn it out onto a cutting board and allow the bread to cool completely while you make the glaze.
- In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Whisk the ingredients until no lumps of sugar remain. Add milk if you would like the glaze thinner for drizzling.
- Once the loaf is cooled, drizzle the glaze over the top of the loaf. Slice and serve.
