Monday, January 18, 2010

Cherry Eggnog Quick Bread


I suppose this recipe is more for Christmas, but I really like eggnog and it seemed a shame to give it up just because the holiday is over. Eggnog lasts a long time so this is a great recipe if you still have some eggnog and you want to have one last holiday hurrah.

I’ve made an eggnog cherry cake before, long ago when I was in grad school. My friend had come over and I had seen an eggnog cherry cake recipe in a magazine and we decided to make it. She
was so excited since she loved eggnog. That cake called for cherry pie filling I believe. I made the cake and put it in the pan. It smelled so good when baking. But it never cooked all the way through. No matter how much I baked it, it still wouldn’t set up. I guess I must have been distracted, but I realized later that I had used was too much cherry filling! No wonder it hadn’t ever set up. My friend didn’t mind one bit and ate it anyway. She said it was yummy but maybe she was just being nice.

So I was hopeful that this would turn out better than that experience, and these loaves did. My husband had given my mini loaf pans for Christmas so I used those here. The pans look so small, and it seemed like I filled the pans awfully full, but it was ok. I substituted maraschino cherries for candied cherries and I omitted the ½ cup pecans from the recipe. The loaves turned out very
nicely and they have a good eggnog flavor. The cherries add a nice sweetness. These would be wonderful as hostess gifts for the holidays next year!


2-1/2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/4 cups eggnog
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup coarsely chopped maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 5-1/2X3-inch mini-loaf pans.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and nutmeg in large bowl. Combine eggnog, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in medium bowl; stir until well blended. Add eggnog mixture to flour mixture. Mix just until all ingredients are moistened. Stir in pecans and cherries. Spoon into prepared pans.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Store tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature

Recipe from http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/cherry-eggnog-quick-bread-recipe.htm

2 comments:

Jenny said...

Do you think there's a chemical difference in store-bought eggnog versus homemade, and would it impact this quick bread? I know the store-bought stuff has a lot of extra stuff in it (which I love, for heaven's sake), but I wonder if the two different kinds would give you different results with a quick bread. Have you tried making this with homemade eggnog?

Nicole said...

Jenny, I'm sure there is a difference with store bought v. home made eggnog. It might have a more distinct eggnog flavor since the homemade probably tastes better!