Every year at Christmas time, there are a few of us who live in the same neighborhood that exchange a little something sweet with each other. We dearly treasure these people, so of course I treat them like I would if they were family members. That means I experiment on them just like I would if we were related.  

Now sometimes my “experiments” turn out better than I expected. Other times, not so much. This year, I gifted these dear friends with a version of an eggnog bread that I read about on the On Sutton Place food site. I changed a couple of things here and there, but the essence of the recipe remained true to the original. And I am very pleased to announce, that in my humble estimation, this bread recipe is a winner.

The bread is ever so tender, moist, and the flavor is absolutely lovely. So even though Christmas has come and gone, or as they say in the common vernacular ‘so yesterday’, I’m providing you with this recipe as an early Christmas present for next year! This bread is simply that delicious. It is definitely gift worthy, even if the one gifted is just you!

So before eggnog no longer appears in your local grocery store dairy case, bake a batch, freeze 2 of the loaves, and every 4 months or so, take one out of the freezer and make an otherwise  uneventful weekend breakfast a special occasion. Cheers!

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

1 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1½ c. eggnog (not the low fat variety)   

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. VS cognac*

1 tsp. dark rum*

2¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 small pkg. (3.4-oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix  

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Butter and flour 3 small loaf pans. Set aside until needed.   

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until combined. In a glass measuring bowl, whisk the eggnog, vanilla, cognac, and dark rum together.

In another bowl, whisk the flour, pudding mix, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon together.

Add the dry ingredients and eggnog mixture to the butter mixture in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition. The batter will be thick. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of each loaf comes out clean. Do not overbake. 

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool completely. Or, if you are giving the loaves as gifts, and have used disposable aluminum pans, they can remain in their pans.

Cognac Glaze

1 c. powdered sugar, or more as needed

1 T. eggnog, or more as needed

1 tsp. cognac, dark rum, or bourbon (whichever you use in the bread batter)

freshly grated nutmeg, opt.

Whisk the powdered sugar, eggnog, and cognac together to form a pourable, but not runny mixture. If your glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add a tiny bit more milk.  Drizzle glaze over cooled loaves. Sprinkle lightly with freshly grated nutmeg. Let set completely before wrapping each loaf in wax paper and aluminum foil. Store at room temperature.

*Or you can use all cognac, dark rum, or bourbon. All work well in this recipe.

It has been a tradition in our family since my children were very young, to enjoy cinnamon rolls with our Christmas morning breakfast. (And it’s a fine tradition I have to say!) Of course it’s one more thing for Mrs. Santa to do on Christmas Eve. But I’ve been making these rolls for so long, they practically throw themselves together. And never being one of those people who has a favorite cinnamon roll topping, I sometimes make sticky buns and other times it’s frosted rolls. I love them both ways, so it’s a dozen of one or a dozen of the other. (I think that’s how the saying goes!) Anyway, this year I decided to make Sticky Buns. And for the life of me, I have no idea why I haven’t previously posted this recipe. Perhaps it has something to do with PCSD – Post Christmas Sleeping Disorder (my need for at least a solid 12 hours of sleep each night between Christmas night and New Year’s Eve). But regardless of the reason, I am not going to let any more time pass without providing you with my recipe for these yummy cinnamon rolls.

I believe the original recipe came out of my Betty Crocker cookbook. I would verify that belief, but I’m pretty sure the cookbook pages would self-destruct if I tried to pry them apart. I am certain however that I made a couple of ingredient changes a while back. I substituted butter for shortening, and bread flour for all-purpose flour. (Got to stay up to date with the ever changing world of nutrition. BTW – it’s once again OK to eat up to 3 eggs and 70g of beef daily! Well, that is, until “they” change “their” minds again!) But back to cinnamon rolls.

So do yourself a favor, and bake a batch of these rolls for your family or friends. And no, you do not have to wait until next Christmas! These babies are delightful any old day of the year. But beware. They are addicting. And yes, if you are a lot more organized than I am, which isn’t difficult I might add, you can make these rolls ahead and freeze them until needed. Happy New Year.

STICKY BUNS

Dough recipe:

¾ c. scalded, room temperature whole milk (see how to scald milk below)

1 pkg. or 1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast

¼ c. room temperature water

¼ c. granulated sugar  

¾ tsp. salt

1 egg

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

3½ c. bread flour

veggie oil

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

½ c. packed brown sugar  

2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ c. golden raisins

In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the room temperature water. Add the sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes. (The yeast should foam up a bit during this time.) Add the cooled milk to the yeast mixture along with the salt, egg, butter, and half of the flour. Mix until smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft, but not sticky ball. Knead for about 5 minutes.

Pour a small amount of oil over the dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. Punch down and let rise again for 30 minutes.  While the dough is rising, make the sticky part.

When the dough is ready, roll into a 15 x 9-inch rectangle. Spread the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter, then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon and golden raisins. Roll up tightly, beginning at one of the wide ends. Slice into 12 rolls (about 1-inch slices.) Place slices in the baking pan over the “sticky part”. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately turn upside down over a tray or aluminum foil. Let pan stay over the rolls a minute or so to allow the “sticky stuff” to run down over the rolls. Anything remaining in the pan can be removed and spread over the rolls. Serve warm.

If you make ahead, allow to cool completely and cover with foil and store on your counter. When you are ready to serve, heat the rolls gently in your oven or microwave. Don’t expect any leftovers!     

Sticky Topping:

1/3 c. unsalted butter

½ c. packed brown sugar

1 T. corn syrup

½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and corn syrup. Pour in to a buttered 9 x 13-inch pan (glass preferred). Sprinkle with pecan pieces. Set aside.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING TOPPED CINNAMON ROLLS

Dough recipe:

¾ c. scalded, room temperature whole milk (see how to scald milk below)

1 pkg. or 1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast

¼ c. room temperature water

¼ c. granulated sugar  

¾ tsp. salt

1 egg

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

3½ c. bread flour

veggie oil

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

½ c. packed brown sugar  

2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ c. golden raisins

½ c. chopped pecans or walnuts

In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the room temperature water. Add the sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes. (The yeast should foam up a bit during this time.) Add the cooled milk to the yeast mixture along with the salt, egg, butter, and half of the flour. Mix until smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft, but not sticky ball. Knead for about 5 minutes.

Pour a small amount of oil over the dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. Punch down and let rise again for 30 minutes. 

When the dough is ready, roll into a 15 x 9-inch rectangle. Spread the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter, then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon and golden raisins. Roll up tightly, beginning at one of the wide ends. Slice into 12 pieces (about 1-inch slices). Place in a buttered 9 x 13-inch pan (glass preferred).  Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely before slathering with the frosting. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the frosting. 

Cover with foil and store on your counter. When you are ready to serve, heat the rolls gently in your oven or microwave. (You don’t want to warm them too much or too fast. You don’t want the frosting to melt completely. It may melt a little. Not such a bad thing!) As with the Sticky Buns, don’t expect any leftovers!     

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

2 T. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch salt

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

3½ c. powdered sugar or more if needed

Cream butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and enough powdered sugar to make a firm but not stiff consistency. Beat until smooth and easy to spread.  

*How to and why is it necessary to scald milk:

In a small pan, heat the milk to just below the boiling point (180 degrees). (Milk will have just begun to simmer at this point, and will give off steam while small bubbles form at the edge of the pan.) Remove from heat. The temperature of the milk at this point is actually higher than the temperature at which milk is pasteurized (161 degrees). Milk actually needs to be scalded for this recipe to help the dough rise up better and produce a firmer, lighter textured roll. For the scientific reasons behind scalding milk, consult the internet.