Boy Thanksgiving is almost here. The time is just flying by! It is almost full throttle baking season and I wanted to create some recipes that might help you pull all of this together real fast. This time of year there are just not enough hours in a day! It pretty much starts turning that way right after Halloween. Speaking of Halloween my decorations are still out. I guess I had better get those picked up before hosting the big turkey.
These Four Sweet Mini Loaves from One Dough are just the recipe to help you knock out all those baked holiday goods. From the easy base sweet dough you will make four different sweet breads; cranberry orange, eggnog, cherry almond and banana nut! This recipe is quick to come together and remarkably the loaves all turn out great with individual flavor and cook perfectly in about twenty-five to twenty-eight minutes. The main sweet bread dough produces three of each mini sweet bread loaf. Now maybe you want to double this recipe. Easy enough just double the base dough and double the adds ins for each type of mini loaf and make six of each kind.
Have you tried any of my other sweet breads? Apple Pecan Sweet Bread, Strawberry Banana Pineapple Bread and Raspberry Lemon Bread with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting are all super delicious!!
These Four Sweet Mini Loaves from One Dough are perfect for holiday baking be it Thanksgiving, Christmas or even Valentines Day. You can gift them in little bread bags tied with coordinating holiday ribbon and gift tags.
Ingredients
Sweet Bread Base Dough
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
Cranberry Orange add ins
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 tablespoons orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
Eggnog add ins
- 1/4 cup prepared eggnog
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon rum
Cherry Almond add ins
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries
- 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
Banana Nut add ins
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup mashed overripe banana
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Please see notes in post on correct pan size.
- In large bowl mix flour, salt and baking powder. In small bowl whisk together milk, eggs and and vegetable oil. Add milk mixture and sugars to flour mixture and stir just to combine. Do not over mix as it may make the bread tough.
- Pour 3/4 to 1 cup base batter (ideally you are trying to hit right in the middle) in large pyrex measuring cup. Stir in cranberries, orange zest and orange juice. Again do not over mix. Pour into mini loaf pan sprayed with nonstick baking spray; filling three of the holes. Please see notes in post on correct size pan.
- Rinse out measuring cup. Pour 3/4 to 1 cup base batter (ideally you are trying to hit right in the middle) in large pyrex measuring cup. Stir in eggnog, nutmeg and rum. Again do not over mix. Pour into mini loaf pan sprayed with nonstick baking spray; filling three of the holes.
- Rinse out measuring cup. Pour 3/4 to 1 cup base batter (ideally you are trying to hit right in the middle) in large pyrex measuring cup. Stir in sliced almonds, maraschino cherries and maraschino cherry juice. Again do not over mix. Pour into mini loaf pan sprayed with nonstick baking spray; filling three of the holes.
- Rinse out measuring cup. Pour 3/4 to 1 cup base batter (ideally you are trying to hit right in the middle) in large pyrex measuring cup. Stir in baking soda, vanilla extract, pecans and mashed banana. Again do not over mix. Pour into mini loaf pan sprayed with nonstick baking spray; filling three of the holes.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing from pan. Cool completely before putting in mini bread bags.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Ann
I don’t see anywhere in your post where you say what size pans to use…???
Beth Pierce
I used to have it that post. I will have to put this link back in. This is very similiar to the pan I use.
Dakota
Hi Beth! I’m so happy I came across your recipe as i plan on making mini loaves for all my friends and wanted all different flavors but didn’t want to have an additional 20 loaves laying around lol. Since this recipe is a few years old, do you have another similar idea with different flavors? I’m going to make 8 different flavored loaves and wanted to see if you had other suggestions before i scour the internet for more recipes! Thanks!
Beth Pierce
Thank you! How about strawberry bread, lemon zucchini bread, lemon blueberry bread, carrot bread, or https://www.smalltownwoman.com/apple-pecan-sweet-bread/. There are more on my site, simply type bread in the search bar.
Linda
So to make all breads one type just triple the amount of add ins?
Beth Pierce
Are you focused on one particular bread? Are you making all mini loaves?
Penny
These look wonderful. I use frozen fruit in my baking.. in this recipe should they be thawed or not thwed?
Beth Pierce
Use the fruit frozen
Penny
Thank you!! They will be on my Christmas gift trays. Happy holidays.
Beth Pierce
Happy Holidays to you too, Penny!
Nicci
Any idea how to adjust for high altitude?
Beth Pierce
Not familiar with high altitude cooking but maybe the readers are.
Paula
I love these loaves and have been making them for several years. They are great as gifts!
I use small ceramic mini loaf pans 2 1/2 x 5″, 2 inches deep to bake them in and can get about 6 loaves. I bake them for 30 minutes & then start checking about every 5 minutes to see if they are done. I love to experiment with different add ins. My latest is white chocolate chips in the cranberry loaf. It is delicious!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Paula! So glad that you like them and thanks for the chocolate chip tip!
Matt
I’m planning on making these for Christmas. Can I make the batter in the morning and refrigerate for a couple hours before baking?
Beth Pierce
The problem is that the baking soda starts working as soon as it is mixed. The bread may or may not rise properly.
Abby
Hello! These all sound delicious, I am going to try my hand at them this year for Christmas. What would you recommend if I would just like to do two different batches at a time-instead of the 4. I would really like to try cherry almond and the orange cranberry. What measurements would you recommend?
Thank you, merry Christmas!