Christy's Christmas Trees
Submitted by micbarkl
Pull-apart Christmas tree coffee cake made with bread machine dough, shaped from soft buttermilk rolls, topped with sweet icing and cinnamon heart candies. A festive holiday brunch centerpiece.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
45 minCOOK
READY
2 hrsThis is one of those holiday showstoppers that looks way harder than it actually is. Your bread machine does the heavy lifting on the dough, and you just shape soft buttermilk rolls into a Christmas tree pattern on a baking sheet.
Five balls on the bottom row, four above that, then three, two, and one on top. Roll the last two into a little S-shaped trunk. Once they rise and bake, the rolls puff together into a golden pull-apart tree.
Finish it off with green-tinted vanilla icing and scatter cinnamon red hots across the top like ornaments. Try swapping in eggnog for the milk in the icing for an extra layer of holiday flavor.
Chef Tips
- Let the dough rise in a barely warmed oven (turn it on for one minute, then off) for the best puff.
- Space the balls about half an inch apart so they merge together while baking but still pull apart easily.
- Scale down easily: divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces to make smaller individual trees for gifting.
- The coffee cake is best served the same day, but dough can be refrigerated overnight and shaped the next morning.
Ingredients
Directions
- Place dough ingredients in bread pan, select Dough setting, 2. When the dough has risen long enough, the machine will beep.
Turn off bread machine, remove bread pan, and turn out dough onto a lightly floured countertop or cutting board.
Gently roll and stretch dough into an 18-inch rope.
Grease a large baking sheet(s).
With a sharp knife, divide the dough into 17 pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball and place it on the greased baking sheet in the shape of a Christmas tree, spaced about a half-inch apart; 5 balls for the bottom roll, 4 balls for the next row, 3 balls for the next row, 2 balls for the next row, and 1 ball at the top. Combine the remaining 2 balls into 1 large ball, gently roll it into a thick rope and shape it into an ‘s’ to form the tree trunk. VARIATION: This recipe makes one large Christmas tree coffee cake. To create 2, 4, or 6 smaller trees, simply divide the dough into 2, 4, or 6 pieces initially and then follow the directions for dividing up the dough and shaping each tree. 3. Cover and let rise in a warm oven for 30 to 45 minutes until doubled. (Hint: To warm oven slightly, turn oven on Warm setting for 1 minute, then turn it off, and place covered dough in oven to rise. Remove from oven to preheat.) Remove baking sheet(s) from oven. Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃). 4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a cake rack. 5. When the coffee cake(s) is cooled, in a small bowl, combine the icing ingredients, adding enough liquid to make the icing thin enough to spread over the coffee cake. Spread each roll with icing, then decorate with cinnamon red hot candies.
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