Holiday Cinnamon Pull-apart Snowflake
I LOVE cinnamon buns at Christmas, or any time of year. My husband especially loves them, but I’ve been asked not to make them on a routine basis because he can’t stop himself from eating them all. So, this recipe is making a special holiday appearance. These look really complex, but they’re actually quite simply to make when you know the process.
You can play with the flavours in this recipe as much as you want. I added a ton of holiday flavours to jazz these up, but you can keep them simple with cinnamon and a cream cheese glaze. Or, add any other flavours you want.
Ingredients:
1 cup warm milk - you can use whole milk or any alternative milk you want
2 1/4 teaspoons (or one packet) instant yeast
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs, beaten - ensure they’re at room temperature!
4 tbsp butter or coconut oil, melted
3 1/2 cups spelt flour (or regular flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 beaten egg for brushing
For the filling:
6 tbsp warm butter (NOT MELTED)
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
For the frosting:
1/4 cup softened cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp orange zest
Method:
These take a few steps for sure, but they’re SO worth it! It’s a great recipe for the holidays when you’re off work (or school) and you have some time on your hands. It’s a great lazy day recipe.
To start, add the warm milk, yeast, maple syrup, beaten eggs, butter, flour, and salt to a stand mixer or large bowl. If you’re using a stand mixer, use the dough hook and mix the ingredients until they come together and form a sticky ball that climbs up the dough hook. If you’re not using a stand mixer, just mix the ingredients until they come together and then turn onto a work surface and knead. It’s a sticky dough, but don’t be tempted to add more flour. Just use a bench scraper or other tool to lift the dough off of your work surface when it sticks, and keep working it.
Whether you’ve pulled the dough out of the stand mixer and finished kneading it, or you’ve been kneading it mostly by hand, you’ll know it’s done when the dough is no longer sticking to your fingers or your work surface. It should become smooth, with a slightly tacky finish on the surface. Once your dough is no longer sticky and comes into a smooth(ish) ball, place it in a clean bowl with a little bit of oil, cover the bowl and let it rise for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how warm your environment is. It’s ready when it has doubled in size.
While your dough is proving, make the filling. Combine the sugar, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and mix until combined. Make sure your butter is soft but is not melting at all. If it’s too cold to mix easily, you can put it in the microwave but ONLY for 10 seconds, no more or it will start to melt.
When your dough has had its first 45 min or an hour proving, punch the air out of the dough and turn it out onto your work surface. Divide it into four equal portions, and then shape each portion into a round ball. Using parchment paper underneath, roll your first dough segment into a circle about 10-12 inches in diameter. Then spread 1/3 of your cinnamon mixture on top, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the chocolate chips and cranberries. Using a separate piece of parchment paper, roll your second dough segment into the same sized circle, and then flip the parchment over to layer this circle over top of the last one, so that it sits on top of the cinnamon, chocolate chips and cranberries. Next, layer half of the remaining cinnamon mixture and half of the remaining chocolate chips and cranberries on top of the second disc of dough. Repeat this process until you have one piece of dough left, and layer the last (meaning the fourth) circle of dough on top. You should now have a stack of dough, with cinnamon, chocolate and cranberry fillings, piled up with four layers of dough and three layers of filling.
Now that you have your stacked circle, place a small ring or cup in the centre (about 2 inches in diameter) so you know where NOT to cut. Then, using a sharp knife, make four slices into the circle so that you end up with four equal sized segments. Then cut each segment in half to make eight, and again to make 16 small segments. For more guidance on how to do this, see this other snowflake recipe by Half Baked Harvest.
Once your circle is sliced into 16 even segments, take two adjoining segments and twist them away from each other. Do one full twist, and then a half twist. Join the segments at the end and pinch them together. Repeat with the other segments in pairs until you have eight swirly snowflake branches. Again, the link above does a good job explaining this.
Once you have your snowflake ready to go, slide it onto a baking tray (carefully) and give it another 15 minutes or so to rise. If you worked quickly making your snowflake, you can give it 20-30 min to rise. If you took more time to make the snowflake, remember it was proving while you were working, so 15 minutes is probably just fine. At this point, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Once it has gone through its second prove, brush it with the egg wash and place in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, and then remove and spoon whatever butter mixture has seeped out back onto the snowflake. Return it to the oven for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven when it is nicely browned and bounces back when you push on it. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes. You want it to still be warm, but not hot.
While your snowflake is baking, make the glaze. Whisk the softened cream cheese and butter together and then slowly add the icing sugar until you reach a smooth glaze consistency. You may need more or less icing sugar than what I’ve listed above. Last, add the orange zest and mix until combined. Drizzle the glaze over the still slightly warm snowflake using your whisk or a piping bag if you want to be fancy.
Eat these warm if you can, but they’re fine to snack on throughout the day. If you’re eating them on day two, pop your segment into the microwave for about 25 seconds. You’ll thank me. Enjoy!
