spiced cinnamon wreath

Merry Christmas Eve, y'all!

Right now, I'm enjoying a big fat, glorious glass of Malbec. The best part? It's 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon. However, I justified it because (a) it's after noon (b) it's the weekend (c) it's a holiday weekend.

I've also been slaving away! Wrapping last minute gifts (which technically is almost all of them, whoops!), getting laundry done, and I've spent most of this afternoon in the kitchen. This girl is thirsty! I was also a very good girl this year and was only naughty, like, five times...if you don't count New Orleans. Or Seattle. Or Costa Rica.

This year is the first year that all of my siblings have been in town at the time for Christmas in...a while. We're also really excited, because both of my nephews are here...Hudson is in from Houston and it's Bodie's first Christmas where he's a little more cognizant of what's going on. It's sure to be magical because, as you know, Christmas is all about the kids.

We're getting together for brunch at my brother and sister-in-law's house bright and early tomorrow. All of us are bringing a little something and we plan to gorge ourselves and enjoy the day. I'm planning to bring a spiced cinnamon wreath, which is just a fancy way of putting together a batch of cinnamon rolls.

I will admit that I am not great at yeast breads. It's one of those things I put on my yearly list of goals to learn how to do. However, I think I've finally managed to work out whatever oddity there was in my kitchen that kept my bread from rising, because these worked out beautifully.

prep time: 20 minutes | rise time: 3 hours | bake time: 20-30 minutes (*see note 1 below)

experience level: medium-ish

for the dough (see note 2 below):*

1 1/4 cup milk, warmed (between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature and very soft
Scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp kosher salt
4 to 5 cups all purpose flour

for the filling:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3-4 tbsp ground cinnamon (Penzey's is the best)
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

for the icing:

5 tbsp cream cheese, room temperature and very soft
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp milk or half-and-half
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar in a small glass bowl. In a small saucepan, warm the milk until a thermometer reads between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. Any warmer will kill the yeast, any cooler won't reactivate it. Pour the warmed milk over the yeast and sugar, using a rubber spatula or whisk to mix. Set aside and allow to foam up, anywhere from 5-10 minutes.

If you have a big stand mixer, throw on the scraper attachment. Beat the sugar and butter together. Add the salt, vanilla, and eggs and mix well. When the yeast mixture is a bubbly and happy, pour it into the butter-egg. Mix until just incorporated. One cup at a time, mix in the flour. I ended up using about 4 1/2 cups, but the total amount will depend on the consistency of your dough. You want to add just enough to make sure the dough is not too sticky and that it sticks more to itself than the bowl.

At this step, you've got two choices: you can switch out the paddle attachment for the bread hook or you can build muscle by kneading the dough by hand. If you use the mixer attachment, you'll need to whip the dough into shape for about 5-6 minutes. By hand, it will be 7-10. I'm a baby and used the mixer. Regardless, you want the dough uniform, elastic, and smooth. The dough shouldn't be sticky anymore.

Mist a large plastic bowl with nonstick spray. Roll the dough into a tight ball and put in the bowl, misting the top with nonstick spray. Make sure the dough is covered with enough spray so it doesn't stick to the side of the bowl. Cover the top with plastic wrap or a thin cloth and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled. This usually takes about 2-2 1/2 hours.

While you're waiting on the dough to rise, make the filling. Using a fork, mash and stir the butter, sugar, and spices until it's all mixed up and uniform. Set aside (keep at room temp).

plus 2 cups of flour

dough hook after 4.5 cups

teeny dough ball

hulked up dough ball

buttery cinnamon spice mix

Using nonstick cooking spray, mist two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans or pie plates OR for the wreaths, line two cookie sheets with parchment and mist with the spray. Once your dough is all Hulked out, punch down the dough. Place dough on a floured surface and roll out into a large rectangle, about 16 by 24 inches. Smear the filling on the dough. This is why it's important to leave the filling at room temp...it needs to be soft to avoid ripping the dough. Leave about a 1/4 to 1/3 inch edge that doesn't have filling on it.

Fold the dough into a roll, as tight as you can get it without squirting filling everywhere. You should also kind of pull and stretch on it as you go. If you have kids, have them wash their hands and help you out with this part of the process. Using a serrated knife, you have two options:

For A Cinnamon Wreath: Cut the dough roll half. Then, following these instructions, cut each section in half length-wise. Twist together the two long sections and secure at the end, forming a circle. Repeat for the second half of the dough.
For Cinnamon Rolls: Using a serrated knife, cut into 24 pieces.

Allow cut dough (in whichever form) rise for 60-75 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit / 177 degrees Celsius. Bake rolls/wreath for 20-25 minutes, until the edges just start to brown.

While the rolls are baking, beat all of the icing ingredients together. When the rolls are finished, drizzle it over the top of the warm bread.

Note 1: If you want to make these rolls ahead, it's super easy. When you get to the step of actually baking them, just par-bake them! Pop them in the oven for 5-10 minutes, then remove them and cool completely. Then, either freeze them in the pan or wrap them in plastic wrap/a zipper bag. When you're ready to bake them, thaw them overnight in the fridge and bake for 10-15 minutes when you're ready!

Note 2: If you're lazy and/or don't feel like doing the whole yeast dough thing, just use two rolls of refrigerated pizza dough. It won't taste as good but...that's your choice!