If you love bakery treats, try this Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze. It’s fast, easy and tastes absolutely delicious without all the rising time!
I was tempted to order a bakery delivery to the neighborhood but decided to satisfy my craving at home instead. That decision led to this Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze — rich cinnamon and pecans swirled through a tender quick bread and finished with a silky cream cheese glaze. It captures the flavors of a cinnamon roll without the yeast and rise time.
My neighbor Emily has two little girls who prefer vanilla-glazed treats, while I was leaning toward pecan-studded cinnamon. We talked about splitting a pan, then chose to skip the delivery and bake. The result gave us both: a soft cinnamon ribbon and crunchy pecans woven throughout the loaves and a tangy cream cheese glaze to top them.
I baked these on a Saturday afternoon and by Sunday evening both loaves were gone. Since I’m under quarantine alone, that either says the loaves were enormous or that I had helpful neighbors. The neighbors option is the right one — we traded supplies and treats while keeping our distance, and it felt good to share.
In these unusual times, small acts of neighborliness matter. People have been generous — picking up essentials, trading a roll for some toilet paper, or dropping supplies on a porch. It truly does take a village. I’m grateful for emergency personnel, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, and everyone still working to keep things running. Thank you.
About the bread: it’s straightforward. You mix a basic quick-bread batter, then prepare a filling of brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans. Assembly is simple: layer batter and filling in 9-inch loaf pans — about a cup of batter, a quarter cup of cinnamon mixture, repeating three times and finishing with the cinnamon topping.
While the loaves bake you make the cream cheese glaze. Beat room-temperature cream cheese and butter together, add vanilla, a touch of corn syrup and lemon juice, then mix in powdered sugar. Thin with milk or half-and-half until the glaze is pourable but not runny. After the loaves have cooled enough to handle, drizzle the glaze over them and let it set slightly before slicing. Serve warm for best results.
Does this quick bread match a light, yeasted bakery cinnamon roll? Not exactly — you won’t get the airy, yeasted texture — but you will get all of the cinnamon roll flavor in a tender, sliceable loaf. I made two loaves for under $10 and shared them with neighbors, so it felt both delicious and economical. When they were gone, the question was already forming: what to bake next?
I’m tempted by a blueberry coffee cake a friend gave me years ago. Sometimes baking is partly about the food and partly about the photos and memories you make along the way.
Hungry for more quick, easy and delicious recipes? These are great too!
- 15 Minute Beer Pizza Dough – beer and yeast help it rise fast so you can get it in the oven quickly.
- Spiced Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs – a quick rub, broil, and a honey-vinegar finish for dinner in under 30 minutes.
- Lasagna in the Instant Pot – a comforting lasagna ready in under thirty minutes.
- Easy Chicken Pesto Pot Pies – use some prepared ingredients to pull together a family meal in no time.
More Favorite Breads
- Bananas Foster Banana Bread
- Peanut Butter and Banana Bread
- Caramel Apple Monkey Bread
- Sunflower Seed Bread
- Honey Butter Beer Bread
- Billowy Off-White Bread with Honey
- Irish Soda Bread with Tart Cherries
- Lemon Summer Squash Bread with Lemon Glaze
- Dilly Casserole Bread – 1960 Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner
- Naan – A Traditional Indian Flatbread
- Asian Sweet Bread
PIN IT! ‘Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze’
Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread with Cream Cheese Glaze
Creative Culinary
Pin Recipe
15
15
Breads
24 Servings (2 Loaves)
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar, divided
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
For the Cinnamon Pecan Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
- ½ cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
For the Cream Cheese Glaze
- 1 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 Tbsps butter, softened
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ Tbsp corn syrup
- ½ tsp fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsps milk or half and half
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
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Grease bottoms and sides of two 9-inch loaf pans. Cut parchment to fit the bottoms and grease the parchment.
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In a large bowl, beat butter, 1 cup of the sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
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Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. For example: 1 1/3 cups flour, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 1/3 cups flour, remaining buttermilk, then final 1 1/3 cups flour. Mix after each addition just until combined.
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Make the filling by mixing brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans.
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Layer in each prepared loaf pan: 1 cup batter, 1/4 cup cinnamon mixture. Repeat two more times, ending with the cinnamon mixture on top.
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Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes, then remove loaves to a rack to cool slightly.
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While the bread bakes, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla, corn syrup and lemon juice and scrape the bowl.
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Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated, then beat on medium until smooth. Add 2–3 tablespoons milk or half-and-half to reach a drizzleable consistency — be careful not to make it too thin.
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When the loaves are cool enough to handle, drizzle the glaze over them and let it set.
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Slice and serve warm.
Nutrition
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