TL/DR – Cinnamon Quick Bread. A quick and easy treat to satisfy a craving for cinnamon rolls when there is simply not enough time to make them! –
If I had the patience and the time, I’d make cinnamon rolls twice a week and eat them every day for breakfast. This recipe satisfies that craving and makes it a bit more healthy. (A bit, I said.) This is one of those things that seems complicated, but it’s really just batter with a layer of cinnamon in the middle and some crumbly goodness on top.
Start by creaming butter and granulated sugar. Add an egg, apple sauce, vanilla and buttermilk.
Add baking soda, salt, white whole wheat flour and all purpose flour and mix until just incorporated.
Coat a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan generously with cooking spray. Pour half of the batter in, then crumble a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon over that. Follow it with the remaining batter and then swirl a knife through it.
Top it with a bit more of the brown sugar cinnamon mixture and then a tablespoon of frozen butter, shaved into thin pieces and scattered over the top. Bake it for about an hour. The bread will rise up and over the edges of the pan, which I think is key, because then there is more surface area for the crispy, buttery topping to work its magic. It’s like a muffin top effect in a loaf pan.
To freeze: once cooled, slice the loaf. Cut parchment paper to the size of a freezer bag. Place a layer of slices into the freezer bag and then place the parchment paper on top, then a second layer of slices, then seal tightly after pressing air out. Gently place the carefully packaged Cinnamon Quick Bread slices into the freezer. To reheat, place a slice on a plate and microwave for 30 – 40 seconds, flipping once.
For something different, try Lemony Zucchini Bread. For a healthy snack bread with hidden veggies, try Chocolate Banana Bread.
Cinnamon Quick Bread
A delicious and easier alternative to cinnamon rolls, with a tip on how to slice and freeze individual portions.
Ingredients
- 1/2 c butter, softened
- 3/4 c granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
- 1 c buttermilk
- 1 c white whole wheat flour
- 1 c all purpose flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/3 c brown sugar
- 1 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1 T butter, frozen
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Step 3 Add the egg and beat until well combined.
- Step 4 Beat in the vanilla, applesauce and buttermilk.
- Step 5 Add the dry ingredients and mix on low or by hand until just incorporated.
- Step 6 In a separate small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon into a uniform mixture.
- Step 7 Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with butter and then a precautionary spray of Pam.
- Step 8 Pour half of the batter into the pan.
- Step 9 Sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon mixture evenly over the layer of batter.
- Step 10 Pour the remaining batter on top and then stick a knife into the batter and swirl back and forth one time.
- Step 11 Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon mixture evenly over the top.
- Step 12 Shave the frozen 1T butter using a vegetable peeler or grater over the top of the cinnamon mixture.
- Step 13 Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Step 14 Allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a rack and cooling completely.
