Scandinavian Tea Ring or Cinnamon Rolls

This coming weekend I have these Tea Rings on my ‘to do’ list. Like many of you I am scurrying to get things done for the holidays. I sent off what I hope is my last Christmas order. Worked on more holiday décor and cooked this weekend. Today (Sunday) I finished off 2 broccoli/ham quiche, and a big bag of Chinese dumplings. Today I made sausage, tomorrow evening its shrimp dumplings.
I’m busy getting the kitchen all stocked for the holidays. Of course, I love to cook and I like having my ingredients here and ready to go. About all I have left to shop for the rest of December is dairy and fresh produce.
My dad, Jerry, has decided to come back down to Branson West and join us for the holiday. So this coming weekend I’m off to Lewistown to bring him down for all the festivities. There really aren’t that many things going on, but it’s the festiveness on the home front, the ambience of Christmas & family. Of course, I do my best to spoil him while he is here visiting.
Next Sunday I plan on preparing the tea rings and freezing them for Christmas week. Instead of making real large rings I make them so they fit into a gallon Ziploc bag. The night before I put them out to rise and Christmas morning you bake and drizzle a little glaze. Then around 11 or 12 we prepare a Christmas Brunch with all the fixings. This year the decision is out on what we are having for Christmas Dinner. If dad chooses it might be shrimp linguini!

The final week of Christmas will find me wrapping. That is when I wish I had myself a little elf! ‘Every’ and I mean every year I tell myself I’ll have all the wrapping done 2 weeks before Christmas. Once again I will not make that goal. I also notice some folks, like myself, don’t say what they want til’ about two weeks prior to the day.
If you have any issues with the tea rings give me a call. You can make cinnamon rolls with the dough, but it will be more like a pasty versus the yeast roll.

Keep smiling my friends and indulge in a few hot cocoas and cookies, you certainly deserve it.
Simply yours, The Covered Dish.

Scandinavian Tea Ring or Cinnamon Rolls

1 cup salted butter

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon yeast

1/4 cup warm water

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 cup warm milk (Skim)

Filling

1 cup chopped English walnut or Pecans

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 cup soft butter

Cut the cold butter into the flour, sugar & salt using a dough hook in the Kitchen Aid mixer. Beat the egg yolks and add to the mixture. Stir yeast into warm water to dissolve and add to mixing bowl along with the warm milk. Mix until dough is shiny and in a ball. Place in a bowl that’s been sprayed with vegetable spray. Spray the top of the dough and cover with saran wrap. Place in refrigerator overnight.
Roll dough into rectangular shape and spread on the butter, cinnamon, sugar and nuts. Roll the mixture into a log shape, the thickness will be determined by the bread maker. Form a ring bringing the two ends together and pinching together as necessary. Make diagonal cuts approximately 1/2 inch thick all the way around the tea ring. Layer the slices at an angle.
Allow the dough to rise 3 hours before baking. Set oven at 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes. The actual duration of time will depend upon the thickness of the ring. (To push this process along, turn an oven to 200 degrees and preheat. When the dough is ready to rise turn off the oven and slide the dough in.) This should cut the rise time at least in half.
While the tea ring is warm, drizzle glaze over the bread and then garnish with additional chopped nuts and/or green and red holiday cherries.

Confectionery Glaze

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon butter extract/flavoring

1 cup powdered sugar

Extra chopped nuts for garnish

Red and Green candied cherries for holiday garnish

Usually a tea ring can serve as many as twenty. It all depends upon the baker and the guests!

Many thanks to Ruth Pasley, Sharon Short and Pat Reineke for starting me on ‘their’ tea ring. I made a few subtle changes, but the foundation of this marvelous recipe started with these three friends from Platte City, Missouri.