Swedish Tea Ring

This recipe comes from a small Betty Crocker Holiday Cookbook, 1967 and is described as “A festive wreath of tender, cinnamon-swirled pastry.”

Prep time:  2 hours 45 mins     Cook time:  30 mins

Serves: 12-14

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH:

2 packages active dry yeast
½ cup warm water (105 to 115°F)
½ cup lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
4½ to 5 cups all-purpose flour

FOR THE FILLING:

5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins

FOR THE GLAZE:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp milk
1½ tsp vanilla

FOR DECOR (optional):

½ – 1 cup candied cherries
½ – 1 cup whole pecans or sliced almonds

Instructions

1.  Make the dough: Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, and 2½ cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. (At this point, dough can be refrigerated 3 to 4 days.) Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1½ hours. (Dough is ready if impression remains when touched.) Punch dough down. Roll the dough into rectangle, 15 x 9 inches, on lightly floured surface.

2.   Add the cinnamon-raisin filling: Spread dough with the 5 tablespoons softened butter; sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Roll up tightly, beginning at 15-inch side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal well. Stretch roll to make even. With sealed edge down, shape into ring on lightly greased cookie sheet. Pinch ends together. With scissors, make cuts ⅔ of the way through ring at 1-inch intervals. Turn each section on its side. (some prefer to not turn the sections, creating a more uniform look).  Cover; let rise until double, about 30-40 minutes. Heat oven to 375°F. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. (If tea ring browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil.)

3. While tea ring is baking, prepare the glaze: Mix together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until glaze is smooth and of desired consistency. When the tea ring is done, remove from oven. Spread with glaze (you may not end up using all of it depending on how much glaze you like, but I hate not having enough!) and, if desired, decorate with nuts or candied cherries while still warm. Enjoy!