Today we have a treat for our readers,
Summer, our Innovation Strategist & Project Manager is sharing some of her favorite family holiday traditions.
Christmas is such a special time for our family, much like it is for most I’m sure. There is something about the quality time that is spent together during the month of December that creates a unique kind of happiness that I look forward to all year. There is so much joy in the little details of the days that go over looked in any other month.
There are several traditions that we do as a family and today I am sharing just a few.
I am a sucker for matching Christmas jammies. My kids would wear “pajammies” all day err-day if I let them so they are extra excited about getting their jammies on Christmas Eve. My brother and I were always way too excited to wait till morning to open presents so we would beg and beg and hound and nag our Mom till she let us open just one on Christmas Eve. We still did it well into our adulthood and I carry on the tradition with my kids by letting them open their Christmas jammies that night.
My favorite family tradition that Lennie and I started together is picking out a new clay ornament every year. Our very first one is a bride and goom with a big red heart and as the years pass we have gone from furry babies to human babies so it’s fun to look back each year and remember what life was like as we added each family member. What a great reminder each year of how much we have grown as a family!
Of course what is a Holiday without something yummy and delicious?! Our tastiest tradition is making my sister in laws cinnamon roll recipe for Christmas morning. They are to die for and since you all are some of my favorite peeps I thought I would share the recipe with you all. Trust me that you are going to want to pin this sucker for your next brunch, shower or Sunday morning. Heck! Feel free to start a Christmas tradition of your very own!
This recipe is super quick and easy and great for bakers from beginning to advanced. I have no idea how to use yeast and I have yet to screw it up. The rolls always turn out golden and flaky on the outside and soft, chewy and just the right amount of gooey on the inside. It’s spiral perfection.
Christmas Morning Cinnamon RollsAdapted from All Recipes.com
Ingredients:
Dough:
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
½ c margarine, melted
4 ½ c bread flour
1 t salt
½ c white sugar
2 ½ t bread machine yeast
Filling:
1 c brown sugar
1 ½ T ground cinnamon
1/3 c butter, softened
Frosting:
1-3 oz package of cream cheese
¼ c butter
1 ½ c confectioners’ sugar
½ t vanilla
1/8 t salt
Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press start.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out on a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll dough into a 16×21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 c butter and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a greased 9×13 pan.
I leave my out overnight. Bake rolls at 400* for 10-15 minutes. Beat cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, and spread on rolls. Serve warm.
You can also use a stand mixer with a dough hook if you do not want to take the time in the bread machine. Just refer to your instruction manual for bread dough.
If you only make 12 rolls they end up HUGE!!! I like to make them a little smaller which yields 24 rolls. Here is how: After you roll the dough out and cover with filling, cut the dough in half long ways so you have 2 long rectangles. Roll those each up and cut in to 12 slices, place in 2 generously greased muffin pans and let rise over night and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
I am not a cream cheese fan so I either cut the cream cheese amount in half and use a 1/2 cup butter or use a basic buttercream recipe instead.
I would love to hear some of your favorite family traditions for the Holiday season and if you are looking for some more Christmas fun check out the 12 Days of Christmas series Jen and I are hosting over at the
Elevate Blog!
