Description
This Christmas Bread is a festive, colorful quick bread filled with cheerful sprinkles and topped with a smooth vanilla glaze. Perfect for holiday gatherings, this soft and moist loaf combines buttery richness with a hint of cinnamon, making it a delightful treat for the season.
Ingredients
Scale
Bread
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup Christmas sprinkles plus more for topping
Icing
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add wet ingredients: Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix just until combined, then mix in the sour cream and milk until incorporated; set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a separate large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- Combine wet and dry: Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir in until just combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Fold in sprinkles: Lastly, fold in the sprinkles but do not overmix them or they could bleed into the batter.
- Bake the bread: Spread into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean from the center and the top is just golden. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: Meanwhile, make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla.
- Ice the bread: Spread the icing over the cooled bread and smooth out with a rubber spatula.
- Garnish and serve: Sprinkle with extra sprinkles if desired then let set, then slice and serve.
Notes
- If your bread is browning too quickly, you can place a foil tent over it while it finishes baking.
- Use room temperature ingredients for better mixing and texture.
- Do not overmix the batter after adding sprinkles to prevent the colors bleeding into the bread.
- Allow the bread to cool completely before icing to prevent the glaze from melting.
- You can swap heavy cream in the icing with whole milk for a lighter glaze, but it may be less thick.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 310 kcal
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 200 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
