Quick bread recipe made with real eggnog, warming spices and rum, topped off with a sweet cinnamon rum glaze! With just 10 minutes of prep work, this holiday eggnog bread is perfect as a dessert, or holiday breakfast!
Perfect for gifting and enjoying as a dessert OR decadent breakfast! We love holiday sweets like this eggnog bread and my Fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, and this is one of my Desserts you’ll definitely want in your recipe box!
EGGNOG QUICK BREAD
Are you an eggnog fan? It seems like it’s one of those polarizing foods, like cilantro and brussels sprouts. Most people pick a side and stick to it.
I’ve always loved it, but in small doses. I could never sip cup after cup, but a little bit definitely gets me in the holiday spirit. I even have my own homemade version, made in the blender!
What’s amazing though, is how eggnog flavors baked goods. That sweet, spiced, custard-like flavor seeps into every morsel and makes things taste fantastic. Take these eggnog snickerdoodles for instance. They’re next-level cookies!
This eggnog bread is technically a quick bread, but I think it honestly tastes like a cross between a quick bread and an eggnog flavored pound cake!
HOW TO MAKE EGGNOG BREAD
Making this quick bread is so simple, and literally, quick!
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (such as flour, baking powder, spices, etc)
- Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl (such as eggs, oil, butter, sugar, eggnog, flavors, etc)
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
- Transfer to loaf pan
- Bake until golden
- Cool and glaze
COOKING TIPS FOR MAKING QUICK BREADS
- Room temperature ingredients – for the best results when baking, your cold ingredients should be at room temperature so they can incorporate fully into the batter.
- Use full-fat eggnog – I tested this recipe with both full-fat and low-fat eggnogs and the full-fat eggnog yielded a much richer and moist loaf of bread.
- Easy on the stirring – when mixing the dry ingredients into the wet, you want to stir until JUST combined (when you no longer see streaks of flour). If you overmix, your bread could end up tough, bake unevenly, or have lots of large holes in it.
- Use fresh ingredients – some of these are obvious, like using non-expired eggs, but did you know using older baking soda/baking powder can affect the way your baked goods bake? Over time, leavening agents (which is what baking soda and powder are) lose their efficacy, and won’t give your quick bread a good rise.
- If you’re unsure if your baking soda or powder are still good, drop a pinch in some hot water. If it fizzes, it’s still good! If not, then you’re in need of some new ingredients.
WHAT IS A QUICK BREAD
The name is a bit of a misnomer, as a quick bread can take upwards of over an hour to fully bake. But the name is a relative term, as it’s comparing the quick bread to a conventional bread (using yeast), which requires hours and hours of rising/proofing time.
Usually quick breads are also mixed together rather quickly, and using no fancy tools.
VARIATIONS OF THIS EGGNOG BREAD
- All butter – I chose to use oil in this recipe, to keep it super moist, but if you prefer to use butter, you can use a full 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp of melted butter. I found that this version is very rich and buttery, but slightly less moist.
- Glaze-less – This bread is sweet on it’s own, so the glaze can be left off if desired. I really think it adds a beautiful finish to the bread though.
- Mini – Divide the batter evenly among 3 mini loaf pans and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Go nuts – Adding some chopped, toasted pecans to the batter adds a delightful crunch.
MAKING QUICK BREAD AHEAD OF TIME
Due to the chemistry of baking quick breads, you can’t make the batter ahead of time. The baking powder or baking soda soda will start reacting with the other ingredients as soon as it’s mixed.
However, you can make this eggnog bread a day in advance, and a baked loaf can be frozen.
Bake and cool bread completely, leaving off the glaze. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, then place into an airtight container and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight, then warm if desired and glaze.
STORAGE
Leftovers should be kept in a sealed container at room temperature and consumed within 2 days. For longer shelf life, refrigerate or freeze.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Loaf Pan – My favorite, inexpensive loaf pan.
- Mixing Bowls – I love these stainless bowls with the non-slip bottoms and handles!
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Recipe inspired by Eggnog Mini Loaves in an old Taste of Home Magazine.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
WET INGREDIENTS
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup eggnog
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp rum (or 1 - 2 tsp of rum extract)
GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar whisked until no clumps remain
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp rum or rum extract
- 2 - 4 Tbsp eggnog (depending on how thick or thin you want the glaze to be)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper, or spray with baking spray (this is the one I use). Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg), and whisk to combine.
- In a separate, larger mixing bowl, add eggs and whisk. Whisk in sugar, then vegetable oil, melted butter, eggnog, vanilla extract and rum.
- Add dry ingredients to eggnong mixture, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir until JUST combined.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-65 minutes, until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Let cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire cooling rack to cool completely.
GLAZE
- While loaf is cooling, make the glaze by combining powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small mixing bowl. Whisk to remove any lumps from the powdered sugar.
- Whisk in the rum and eggnog, adding the eggnog 1 Tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
- Drizzle over cooled bread and serve.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Tiffany says
This was delicious and moist. I didn’t use the glaze, but I took the advice of a prior poster of using 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of butter extract. I used all purpose flour. I actually plan on making this again to keep in the freezer. Everyone loved it!