eggnog bread on parchment paper

When Christmas is around the corner, forget the cookies — only eggnog bread (with spiced rum glaze, YES PLEASE) will do! OK, OK — the cookies can stay, too.

SO. Christmas is but a few eves away — how do we feel about this? Are we cool as Jack Frost, or are we roasting chestnuts solely with our stress-induced body heat? For a while I was pretty chill about everything, and then I realized that I was looking at the calendar all wrong and suddenly, Christmas is not two weeks away but ONE week away, and now I’m fairly certain the reason we’re going to have a green Christmas in the upper Midwest is because of me.

Thankfully, there is still some of this eggnog bread to be had, which is made with real eggnog and spices and yes, rum, both in the bread and in the glaze, and it tastes mighty fine with some eggnog on the side. That’s just a suggestion — but a very strong one.

eggnog bread ready to bake in loaf pan

eggnog bread with spiced rum glaze on cooling rack

HOW TO MAKE EGGNOG BREAD

I know I promised you guys on Instagram last week that I would post this quick bread recipe on the blog on Monday, but alas, I am a liar. Instead, I shared a recipe for yummy Beef Wellington, though, so I hope you’ll forgive — and if you’re still unsure of whether we can be back on good terms, I put extra spiced rum glaze on this bread, JUST FOR YOU. As a peace offering. Please accept.

This eggnog bread starts with a base of classic eggnog spices — cinnamon and nutmeg. Then you add in your eggnog and a splash or two of rum (or rum extract, if you prefer!). I used spiced rum in my recipe but I suspect white rum or even bourbon works, too.

To top it all off, I whipped up a glaze of even more eggnog and rum, then sprinkled a few dashes of nutmeg on top. MERRY MERRY.

The end result is a perfectly sweet, soft and flavorful quick bread recipe that is so festive, you’ll feel like the jolly old elf him/herself.

TIPS FOR BAKING QUICK BREAD

If you’ve never made a quick bread before, or if you’ve made plenty but they just never turn out all that great, good news! I have tips for you:

1. Pay attention to the loaf pan size called for in the recipe. It’s important, because the cup capacity differs greatly from pan to pan, and that means if you’re not careful, you could end up with a shallow loaf or an overflowing mess. I have a 9×5-inch loaf pan, an 8-1/2×4-1/2-inch loaf pan (which I used in this recipe) and an 8×4-inch loaf pan.

2. Make a parchment paper sling to help keep your bread from sticking to the bottom of the loaf pan, but also to help lift the bread out of the pan to cool so you don’t have to do that awkward holding-the-pan-in-one-oven-mitt-hand-while-turning-the-bread-upside-down-into-the-other-oven-mitt-hand thing. YOU KNOW.

3. Grease ONLY THE BOTTOM of the pan. Do not spray the sides. Don’t you do it. This will help prevent that weird lip from forming on the top edges of the loaf.

4. Don’t be discouraged by that crack that forms in the top of your bread after baking! This is just a characteristic of quick breads. That’s what glaze is for.

top of eggnog bread with spiced rum glaze

Most of all, though, have fun with this recipe! Change up the booze, double up the glaze (I MEAN), maybe even make it into muffins. The point here is that we enjoy the process as much as the end result. After all, even when the holidays are stressful, there is still joy to be found.

sliced eggnog bread with spiced rum glaze

On that note, I wish you and yours the merriest Christmas and a truly happy and healthy New Year. See you in 2019, friends.

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eggnog bread with spiced rum glaze

Eggnog Bread with Spiced Rum Glaze

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Girl Versus Dough
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 35 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 2 hours 35 mins
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

For the bread:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons spiced rum or rum extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup eggnog

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons eggnog
  • 1 teaspoon spiced rum

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Spray bottom ONLY of pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg until well combined. In a separate large bowl with electric hand mixer or in bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat sugars and butter 2-3 minutes until light, fluffy and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in rum and vanilla.
  3. Alternate between adding flour mixture and eggnog to butter mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture (3 additions of flour mixture, 2 additions of eggnog); stir after each addition until batter is just combined.
  4. Pour and spread batter evenly in prepared loaf pan. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes, then use parchment paper to transfer bread from the loaf pan to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
  5. When bread is fully cooled, make the glaze: In a small bowl using a fork, beat powdered sugar, eggnog and rum to form a smooth, drippy glaze. Drizzle glaze evenly over cooled bread; sprinkle with nutmeg. Allow glaze to set before slicing.