Almond Holiday Bread

Almond Holiday Bread

Ingredients

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup Torani Almond Syrup

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 maraschino cherries, halved

Instructions

Makes 4 (4x2-inch) or 3 (5x2-inch) mini loaves
Serves 12/ Time: 15 minutes, plus 35-40 minutes to bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 4 (4 x 2-inch) paper or 3 (5x2-inch) metal mini loaf pans with cooking spray. Set aside.
Place the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 8 minutes. Finely chop 1/2 cup of the almonds, leave the remaining almonds unchopped. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the syrup, sour cream, and egg and beat to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Add the chopped almonds and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Spoon the batter into the pans and place them on a baking sheet. Bake the breads, rotating the baking sheet once after 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
See Holiday Almond Icing
Spread the icing over the breads and sprinkle with the remaining sliced toasted almonds and the cherries while the icing is still wet. Let stand for 1 hour or until icing has set. Wrap loaves in gift bags.