Preheat your oven to 350°F and position a rack in the center. While the oven heats, grease your loaf pan thoroughly with butter or cooking spray, paying special attention to the corners and edges. Gather all ingredients and arrange them on your counter—this is especially important since you'll be working quickly once you start combining ingredients. I like to have the eggnog and eggs at room temperature before starting; they incorporate more smoothly into the batter and create a more tender crumb.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, sifted baking powder, and freshly ground nutmeg. Make sure to break up any lumps of baking powder as you combine—this ensures even rising throughout the bread. Whisking rather than just stirring helps distribute the leavening agent uniformly, which is crucial for consistent texture. Set this dry mixture aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the room-temperature eggs, eggnog, melted butter (cooled slightly), and vanilla extract until well combined and smooth. The cooled butter is important—if it's too hot, it can scramble the eggs. Whisk vigorously for about 30 seconds to create a cohesive wet mixture; this helps the batter rise more evenly during baking.

Pour the wet ingredient mixture from Step 3 into the bowl with the dry ingredient mixture from Step 2. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold the ingredients together just until the flour is barely moistened—the batter should still look slightly lumpy and rough. This is the most important moment in quick bread baking: overmixing develops gluten, which makes the bread tough and dense. I stop stirring as soon as I don't see any dry flour, usually within 15-20 gentle folds.

Gently fold the halved candied cherries and coarsely chopped pecans into the batter from Step 4 with just a few strokes—again, minimal handling keeps the bread tender. The halved cherries distribute more evenly throughout the loaf than whole ones, and coarsely chopped pecans add pleasant texture. Immediately spoon the batter into your prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top gently with a spatula to ensure even baking.

Place the loaf pan in your preheated 350°F oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The bread will be golden brown on top and spring back when lightly pressed. If the top is browning too quickly but the inside isn't done, loosely tent with foil for the last 10 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes—this allows the structure to set firmly enough to handle without breaking apart. After 15 minutes, run a thin knife around the edges to loosen it, then turn the loaf out onto a wire cooling rack. Let it cool completely at room temperature before slicing; this ensures the crumb is fully set and won't be gummy.