
Served warm spread with butter our Cinnamon Walnut Quick bread makes a delicious treat for a weekend breakfast or mid-morning snack.
This is an old-fashioned recipe for quick bread that uses a combination of apple cider vinegar and milk to give it a slightly tangy flavor that’s similar to baked goods made with buttermilk.

Cinnamon-Walnut Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 11 tablespoons milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup shortening, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease a standard-size loaf pan (9¼" x 5¼" x 2¾").
- Combine the melted butter, walnuts, cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Place the apple cider vinegar (5 Tbsp) in a measuring cup and fill with the milk to the 1-cup mark (11 Tbsp).
- In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and whisk in the vinegar-milk mixture. Gradually add the melted shortening, then add the entire mixture to the dry ingredients. Combine well.
- Give the walnut-cinnamon mixture a stir, then fold it into the batter, swirling it through, but not combining completely.
- Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I felt that 5 T of vinegar was too much. I only used a bit more than 1 T to one cup milk. I also added 3 x the amount of nuts. Got rave reviews.
What can you use if you don’t have shortening?
You can use butter in place of shortening. Because butter contains a percentage of water content and shortening does not, the bread will rise a little higher when made with shortening, but butter will add flavor that shortening doesn’t have.
Is it ok to add a little honey and/or vanilla extract?
Hi Ellie,
Adding up to 1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla would be fine. Without testing, I can’t say whether honey would affect the texture though. If you’re looking for that flavor, perhaps you could make a honey-butter to spread on it when serving.
Very good loaf. I don’t see how anyone could make it in 10 minutes, though! It also took a longer cooking time than you wrote, about 15 minutes longer. Thank you!
Hi Wynn,
So glad you liked the Cinnamon Walnut Bread. At your suggestion, I’ll increase the prep and cook times a bit.
This is delicious !! It did take about 15 min longer to cook but it was worth it 🙂
This is my second recipe I have tried of yours in 2 days and I am very happy with them both !!
Thanks !!!!
Thanks for your nice comments. I’m glad you liked the cinnamon bread – it’s one of my favorites too.
I made this as a hostess gift for a friend. It was so delicious! (It also made my house smell heavenly when I baked it). I only had almond milk in the house and it made a nice substitution in a pinch. Great recipe!
Is there any adjustment for 5000 ft altitude?
Hi Eileen,
We’re in Florida (at sea level) so I can’t speak from experience, but King Arthur Flour is a baking source that we trust implicitly and they have a guide to high-altitude baking.