Swedish Tea Rings

A fancy version of Cinnamon Rolls -- and easy, too! This pastry looks like you spent hours slaving over the dough. In reality, it takes 2 hours from start to finish because it is basically my cinnamon roll recipe (well, maybe it takes a bit more than 2 hours when you add the frosting glaze). I made this for the breakfast after the Sunday school Christmas program, and there wasn¹t much left to take home! These are our Families ultimate favorites at the Holidays

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 2 tea rings

Ingredients

• 2  cups warm water
• 2 (1/4ounce) packages dry yeast (or 4 teaspoons bulk yeast)
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup  cooking oil (I like to use Canola oil)
• 2  eggs
• 6 -7  cups flour
• 1  cup  chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Measure warm water into a large mixing bowl and dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in
2. sugar, salt, cooking oil. Beat in eggs. Beat in 2 to 3 cups of flour. Stir in remaining
3. flour. Knead on a floured surface. If dough is too sticky, knead in a little more flour, a
4. quarter cup at a time.
5. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
6. Knead dough for a few minutes.
7. Roll out dough into a rectangle approximately 24 inches long by about 16 inches wide.
8. Spread with soft butter. (Add apple, cherry or what ever type of canned pie filling you
9. like, or just Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. ).
10. Beginning on the wide side, roll up dough. When the dough is rolled, be sure the seam
11. is on the bottom. Grasp dough on each end and pull gently to stretch the dough
12. another couple of inches.
13. Cut the roll of dough in half.
14. Grease two cookie sheets.
15. Take each end of one roll and put them together on the cookie sheet to form a circle.
16. Use a scissors to cut about a third to a half the way through the dough at two inch
17. intervals all around the circle. Gently turn the dough outward. That is, grasp the dough
18. and turn it on its side so that the cuts are on the outside instead of on the top.
19. Repeat with the other roll.
20. Set in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes.
21. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 35 minutes.
22. Allow the tea rings to cool completely.
23. Frost with powder sugar glaze. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the tea rings.
24. Decorate with walnuts and/or candied cherries before the glaze has a chance to set.
25. Cut into slices to serve.
26. Note: this recipe makes two *large* tea rings.
27. To decorate:
28. ~~~~~~~~~~
29. walnuts
30. candied cherries
31. Frosting Glaze:
32. ~~~~~~~~~~~
33. 3 to 4 cups of powdered sugar
34. 1 teaspoon of vanilla
35. a pinch of salt
36. Add water or milk by the tablespoon until the glaze will dribble off a spoon.