Christmas Treat Baking: Glazed Eggnog Loaf

This is Post #2 in my unofficial Christmas Treat series! By unofficial I mean I didn't plan it at all, I just ended up with three posts about sweets that are going to be going up close together, haha!

I'm not a fan of eggnog, but I absolutely love this eggnog loaf. It's so moist and has the perfect sweet/spice ratio. It's also great for breakfast because it keeps you full for a long time! I just started making this last year, but after the first one I made I kept making them to give to people because they are so delicious. I love having traditions and I think this is going to be one of mine because it was a big hit with me and with all of my family and friends as well :)

Enough chit-chattin', let's get baking!

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of regular eggnog (not low fat)
2 eggs

2 tsp Spiced Rum

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter @ room temperature

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 (3.4 ounces of powdered) package of instant French vanilla pudding mix

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

*Note: You can substitute the Spiced Rum for Orange Juice :)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray your loaf, muffin etc. pan with non stick spray.

1. In your mixer using the paddle – mix together the eggs, eggnog, rum, sugar, vanilla and butter. The butter will remain clumpy but that is just fine. 

2. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, pudding mix, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

3. Add the dry mixture to the wet and blend until incorporated. Avoid over mixing. Again, the butter will remain clumpy and this is to be expected. The butter will melt when cooking.  The dough will be thicker – be aware.  

4. Pour into your prepared choice of pan(s).

5. Bake your mini loaves for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. A regular loaf pan will take about 45-55 minutes. Mine always take closer to the hour mark, at least.

6. I suggest using a toothpick or preferably a skewer to poke holes in your loaf so the glaze will sink inside and it'll be nice and moist when you cut into it!

Onto the Glaze!

I actually decided to use a different glaze recipe this year from the one you'll see listed if you go to the original blog post I got this from. Personally, I think the one I'm going to show you is thicker in texture and more rich in flavor.

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients {edited for this recipe}

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vanilla-glaze/

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2  tablespoons of milk

1/2 tablespoon of eggnog

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon butter

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I used a little less than this because I wanted the glaze to stay white)

Once you've whisked it all together, it should be thick and a creamy white. I also like to add festive sprinkles to mine to add a little color!

Now I'm going to shamelessly share more pictures because I think it's so beautiful when it's finished!

I promise you guys will love this if you make it! I hope you've enjoyed this post!

*Original Recipe: http://kneadtocook.com/eggnog-bread/