Christmas Cinnamon Bread: Easy Homemade Gift Loaves

Wolf Homestead

4 minutes ago

3 min read

If I am making homemade Christmas gifts from the kitchen, this cinnamon bread is exactly the kind of recipe I want. It is simple, smells amazing while it bakes, and that cinnamon-sugar layer running through the middle makes it feel a little more special than an everyday loaf.

In the video, I was already planning to make a bunch of these for my bus families and my school bus kids. That is one of my favorite things about a recipe like this: it is something you can bake in batches, let cool, wrap up and give to people you appreciate.

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Watch Me Make the Cinnamon Bread

What You Need

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
2 teaspoons baking soda
Cooking spray for the loaf pans

For the Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture

1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

How to Make Cinnamon Bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray your loaf pans well with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, 2 cups of sugar, vanilla and softened butter. Mix until combined.
Add the baking soda, then add the flour one cup at a time until all 4 cups are incorporated and the batter is mixed together.
In a separate bowl, stir together the brown sugar, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt.
Sprinkle a little of the cinnamon-sugar mixture into the bottom of each prepared loaf pan.
Add batter until each pan is about halfway filled, then sprinkle another layer of cinnamon sugar over the batter.
Add the remaining batter on top and smooth it out. Finish with the rest of that cinnamon-sugar deliciousness over the top.
Bake at 350°F for about 55 minutes.
Move the loaves to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before wrapping, slicing or gifting.

A Note About the Loaf Pans

The video makes several loaves, but the exact number depends on the size of the loaf pans you use. The important part is the layering: cinnamon sugar on the bottom, batter about halfway up, more cinnamon sugar, the rest of the batter, and one final cinnamon-sugar layer on top.

And no, they do not have to look perfectly identical. They just need enough room to bake and plenty of cinnamon sugar. That is the important part.

These are the loaf pans i use every time, they are silicone so the bread does not stick, and they are so easy to clean afterward.

Colorful loaf pans I use for Christmas cinnamon bread gift loaves

SEE THE LOAF PANS I USE →

Why I Love This for Christmas Gifts

There is something about giving somebody a loaf of homemade bread at Christmas that feels warm and personal without making the gift complicated. This one smells like cinnamon and butter, looks beautiful once it is baked, and is easy to make in a batch when you have several people you want to remember during the holidays.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous — and it smells amazing.

If you make it, let me know how it turns out. This is one of those recipes where the kitchen smells like Christmas before the bread is even cool enough to eat.