Cinnamon Sugar Bread

Sadly this is the last piece of this wonderful bread. Normally I would toss the last lonely piece of bread, but we are loving it, so it will be breakfast tomorrow. The author of this recipe calls it The Amazing Amish Cinnamon Bread Alternative and likens the flavor to the labor-intensive Amish Friendship Bread.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and decided it would make great breakfast muffins. The recipe makes two loaves, so I made a dozen muffins and a loaf. We loved it both as muffins and as bread. It is moist and tender, not too sweet, and fragrant with the warm spices of winter.

Cinnamon Sugar Bread
Adapted from the original

1 cup salted butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk (I used full-fat)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher flake salt

Cinnamon-sugar topping
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Prepare muffin tin or loaf pans with baking spray. (I have a lot of "sticking" problems with my loaf pans, so I greased the pan with shortening and laid a strip of parchment in the bottom and up the sides for easier removal.)

Mix together topping ingredients; set aside.

Cream together butter and 2 cups sugar till fluffy; add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. On low speed add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk just until flour is no longer visible.

For muffins: Fill prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full; sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes, loosen edges, and cool on wire rack.

For one loaf: Pour 1/2 of batter into prepared loaf pan; sprinkle with half of cinnamon mixture. Add remaining batter, carefully spreading over cinnamon-sugar mixture, and sprinkle with remaining topping. Can swirl with a knife at this point. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until toothpick tester come clean. Cool in pan 20 minutes before removing to wire rack.

For two loaves: Pour 1/4 of batter into each prepared loaf pan; sprinkle with 1/4 of cinnamon mixture. Add half of remaining batter into each, carefully spreading over cinnamon-sugar mixture, and sprinkle half of remaining topping over each. Follow above instructions for baking.

I made a dozen muffins and one loaf of bread. Freezes very well.