Christmas Magic Cinnamon Snowflake

This was a big hit this last Christmas. I’m excited for a new magical holiday tradition for my family. This “cinnamon snowflake” looked beautiful and was easy to prep the day before so I could bake it Christmas morning. It was really easy to pull apart and dish out to the family. It also turned out delicious! It’s quite the sweet treat and I definitely plan to make it every Christmas (much to the chagrin of my slim, calorie watching sister, who’s willpower is at the store).

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 1 cup warm whole milk

• 1 packet quick-rise instant dry yeast

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 egg, beaten for brushing before baking

For the Filling:

• 6 tablespoons butter, very warm but not melted

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

For the Frosting:

• 7 tablespoons butter, softened

• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. To make the dough. Combine the milk, yeast, honey, 2 eggs, butter, 3 1/2 cups flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl. The dough should be sticky, but if it seems too sticky, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour.

2. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Kneed into a smooth ball. Grease a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 45 minutes-1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

3. Meanwhile, make the filling. Mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a bowl.

4. Lightly dust a surface with flour. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough down and roll into a ball. Cut the dough evenly into 4 pieces. I like to use a kitchen scale and weight my dough to make sure I have 4 even dough balls. While it sounds a little OCD, trust me that it makes the rolling out process a lot easier since each dough ball is actually the same size. Roll the first ball out into a 10 inch circle.

5. Place rolled out circle on a parchment lined baking sheet with sides. Spread 1/3 of the filling over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge.

6. Roll out second dough ball and place on top and spread with 1/3 of the filling. Do the same with the 3rd layer of dough and spread with the remaining filling. Finish with the 4th dough round.

7. Place a 2 inch wide drink glass in the center of the dough and use as a guide when cutting the strips. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 4 triangles, then cut each triangle in half creating 8 triangles. Now cut each triangle in half again to make a total of 16 triangles (see photo for a guide).

8. Remove your center guide. Lift the edges of 2 wedges that are next to each other and twist them away from each other twice. Pinch the ends to seal. Repeat with the remaining pairs of wedges. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes, or let rise overnight in the fridge. I found it easy to do this part the afternoon/evening before so that I could bake in the morning.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the center. Brush the snowflake with the beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and carefully spoon any sauce that has leaked out of bread back over the bread. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While baking, make the frosting:

1. Beat butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy.

2. Blend in milk and vanilla, then gradually mix in confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth and fluffy.

3. Paint half of frosting on your cinnamon snowflake while it’s hot, it will melt into the pastry. When it’s cooled you can either paint or use an icing bag to decorate with the remaining frosting.

   *Pro-tip: Plan ahead for what time it will be when you plan to make the frosting. If it’s going to be early in the morning in a cool house, there won’t be time for the butter and cream cheese to get soft. If this is the case, I would make the frosting the day/night before and pull it out early to soften while your snowflake bakes.

Happy baking Mommas, and enjoy!