Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas!!!

I should have scheduled these posts way far ahead! Maybe next year, I'll do just that, so I can enjoy replying to comments instead of trying to add content. Live and learn!

First, I'm thoroughly enjoying my Christmas so far. We did our family tradition of watching The Muppet Christmas Carol last night, (and my son's girlfriend joined us.)

Right Now, my four teens are on the floor of the living room trading the Magic the Gathering cards that Santa left for them. They haven't even started opening their other presents, but that's the way we've always done it. I think we open presents one or two at a time, all day, or sometimes over the course of two or three days because people used to drop by, or we'd get to playing and lose track of time. 

When the kids were little and went to bed early, I made overnight cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning breakfast (the recipe is at the end of this post). Last night I opted out--I was still wrapping gifts, and we got a late start! I'll probably make them for New Year's instead. 



This is DAY TWELVE
of the GREAT HOLIDAY ZAMFEST!
what's in it for you?



Welcome to the twelve days of ZAMfest All you have to do is comment to enter the daily drawing and I'll pull a new name from the hat each night to win an ebook from my backlist. The TWELFTH day will be Christmas, that's when I'll put the name of anyone who leaves me a comment on all twelve blogs, into a drawing and one very lucky person will win the grand prize-- a $50 dollar Amazon Gift Card. If you're new to the ZAMfest, it's not too late to go back and comment on earlier blogs. Good Luck! I'll be picking my winner tomorrow, on the twenty-sixth, and I'll post to let everyone know who it is. If I've failed to get in touch with you and you've won something, never fear, I'll take care of the rest of business tomorrow.

DAY eleven's winner is Judi, arella3173, I'll be contacting you to see which ebook you'd like!

Thanks for playing along! I've been wanting to say, I've missed a couple of days of replying to comments, wow, with christmas this close, I had to finally stop procrastinating and go out shopping. I've dragged home the feasting foods, and caught up with some of my last minute presents, but still, I'm not quite through yet! That doesn't mean I don't love and cherish each and every comment! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sending you the most heartfelt, warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season,

~ZAM~


Bon Appétit | March 2008
Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze
by Molly Wizenberg
Yield: Makes 18 servings
ingredients
Dough:
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
preparation
For dough:
Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.
Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.
Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).
Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

For glaze:
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.


24 comments:

  1. We also like to open presents slowly, with much reminiscing and story-telling in between. It makes the fun last so much longer.

    Merry Christmas,

    Margec01

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  2. Those cinnamon rolls look fabulous (and just hours ago I thought I could never eat again)! Merry Christmas, and thanks so much!

    vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com

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  3. Homemade cinnamon rolls - Yummy! I don't recall if I've ever seen the Muppet's Christmas Carol or not, but it looks fun to watch. Merry Christmas!!

    strive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com

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  4. My Christmas was slow - TV, some reading, nibbling on various food and long talk with my sister that comes home once a quarter. Everything as I imagined. I wish you all to have Christmas of your dreams.

    0401romance(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. We were so astonishingly broke this year, we didn't exchange gifts. But we watched A Christmas Story, ate lobster, sang carols and danced. A very nice time! Happy Holidays all!

    brendurbanist at gmail dot com

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  6. I didn't know how much Cinnamon Rolls were a Christmas tradition until I started seeing recipes during the holiday blog hops.

    Merry Christmas!

    penumbrareads(at)gmail(dot)com

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  7. Got my 12 yr.old daughter a nice paint set and a paper canvas notebook and she hasn't stopped painting all day! Everyone else will receive handmade/hand painted items made by me.
    Happy Holidays!

    ~Rush~
    taina1959@yahoo.com

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  8. Merry Christmas! My family does 3 Christmases: the one at my parents house where we open our gifts, at my maternal grandparents' house for an awkward lunch and presents, then at my paternal grandparents' house for dinner and presents. It's a long day! This year we left the first grandparents' house a bit early after some insults and terrible conversation... I hope your day went well! ;)
    Juliana
    OceanAkers @ aol.com

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  9. Popping in quick from presents. Makes you wonder why you spent all the time wrapping : ) Merry Christmas all.

    Issa
    cojazzchick At yahoo DOT com

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  10. We were supposed to get my sister and her family for new years instead of christmas this year but, do to the in-laws having the flu got them for christmas instead. It turned out all right but we were running around like crazy wrapping presents and buying food when we thought we would still have a week to prepare. Luckily it all turned out all right.
    hawk18954@yahoo.com

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  11. Merry Christmas - because of family coming and going - Christmas takes often takes days. Just 3 for dinner tonight, so that will be easy. Enjoy time for with your family.
    Merry Christmas to all.

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  12. My father's side of the family is European, so when I was growing up, we would celebrate the traditional Christmas Eve day family gathering with presents and food and kids running around going crazy hyped up on adrenaline and sugar! Then on Christmas Day, I got to do it all again with Mum's side of the family!

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  13. I've made cinnamon buns before...lets just say my first attempt wasn't so great. Hopefully with this recipe it'll turn out how its suppose to. Merry Christmas =)

    H.B.
    humhumbum@yahoo.com

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  14. Merry Christmas ZAM! Homemade Cinnamon rolls Yum! I made Fudge today, but now I want Cinnamon rolls. LOL!

    abraalpacas at gmail dot com

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  15. I always make sausage balls...my sister loves them, swears that they are the best she's ever had...they're just sausage balls... :D

    morris(dot)crissy(at)gmail(dot)com

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  16. Merry Christmas to all. Spent the day after an early run through the presents flying across the country. Went from AZ desert to PA snow. May have to try the rolls, we all love them.

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  17. Merry Christmas! We have actually had a white Christmas here in Texas. That is a rare occurrence for us. Very pretty, but freezing cold.

    I hosted a Christmas eve gathering for my family and Christmas day dinner at my house this year. Lots of fun and good food, but I am exhausted. Your cinnamon rolls sound yummy, even though it is hard to think about food at the moment. :) Enjoy the rest of the holidays. :)

    lkbherring64(at)gmail(dot)com

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  18. Merry Christmas! This has been a lot of fun. This year, at our house, things were pretty laid back. I got to sleep in a little (8:00) and we had a leisurely breakfast before getting to presents. It snowed last night, but the sun came out this morning, making for a picture perfect Christmas. Thanks for the past 12 days. Happy New Year.

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  19. Merry Christmas! I had a great day and am now ready to go to bed. I hope you and your family had fun! :)

    cherrieluv4 @ gmail .com

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  20. Thanks for the recipe. Those sound delicious! I just finished doing miles of dishes, so now I'm going to collapse and read a book on my new Nook Simple Touch with Glow Light (if I can figure it out!)
    books2read69(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  21. We actually had a "white Christmas" here in Texas which isnt really something I wanted but it is pretty (and COLD!!!).
    The cinnamon rolls sound yummy!!

    aelnova@aol.com

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  22. Hope you had a wonderful christmas! I'm still recovering from my cookie hangover! LOL

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  23. Merry Christmas, ZAM ^.^


    Erica
    eripike at gmail dot com

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