During the holidays in Sweden, many people celebrate Saint Lucia Day as well as Christmas. Saint Lucia day falls on December 13^th and honors the Saint Lucia, who is known to bring love, kindness and light to the Swedish people during the dark times of winter. On the morning of December 13^th, a family’s eldest daughter dresses in a long white nightgown and places a wreath lined with ligonberries and nine candles on her head. She wakes the household carrying coffee and baked treats, such as saffron buns, tea cakes and gingerbread cookies. Saint Lucia’s presence on this morning symbolizes the return of light and a joyous start to the holiday season. Here, Tea’s Design Director, Hannah Robinson, shares her family’s Swedish Tea Ring recipe.

Swedish Tea Ring

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"When I think about my family’s holiday traditions, one of the first things that comes to mind is the beautiful Swedish tea ring that my mom makes every Christmas morning. By the time I get out of bed, my mom has already formed the kneaded dough into a ring and has placed it in the oven to bake. Quite frankly, nothing is better than waking up to the smell of sweet dough baking when it’s chilly outside! After the tea ring cools, my mom adds a festive touch by lightly drizzling icing across the top of it and placing a crimson-colored candle in the center. We then gather as a family to start our day of celebration by opening stockings and each enjoying at least one slice of my mom's delicious breakfast treat."

• CourseLunch
• CuisineSwedish

Servings	Prep Time
8 people	20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings Prep Time 8 people 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Swedish Tea Ring Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe "When I think about my family’s holiday traditions, one of the first things that comes to mind is the beautiful Swedish tea ring that my mom makes every Christmas morning. By the time I get out of bed, my mom has already formed the kneaded dough into a ring and has placed it in the oven to bake. Quite frankly, nothing is better than waking up to the smell of sweet dough baking when it’s chilly outside! After the tea ring cools, my mom adds a festive touch by lightly drizzling icing across the top of it and placing a crimson-colored candle in the center. We then gather as a family to start our day of celebration by opening stockings and each enjoying at least one slice of my mom's delicious breakfast treat." CourseLunch CuisineSwedish Servings Prep Time 8 people 20 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings Prep Time 8 people 20 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/8 cup lukewarm water
• 1 egg beaten
• 3 cups sifted flour

Ingredients for the Tea Ring

• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 dough
• 1 cup dried cherries, raisin and/or cranberries
• 1 tin can to form the center of the tea ring

Ingredients for Icing

• 1 cup powered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoon milk

Servings: people

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

1. To make the dough, start by scalding the milk and stirring in the butter, sugar and salt. Cool to a lukewarm temperature. Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add milk mixture, eggs and half of the flour to the yeast and beat until smooth. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as necessary to make the dough slightly stiff.
2. Turn dough on floured board and let rest 5 minutes. Knead the dough 5-8 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. Put in greased bowl and grease the top. Cover and let it rise in a warm place until double in size (which will take about 1 hour).
3. To make the tea ring, start by working the butter into the sugar. Add in a lemon peel and almonds and mix well. Roll dough into a 14" x 10" rectangle and sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over the dough.
4. Arrange dried fruit evenly over all and roll up from the long side. Form it into a circle on a greased baking sheet and seal ends together firmly. Snip the dough with scissors from the edge of the circle—3/4 of the way to the center every 1 1/2".
5. Turn the cut pieces on their sides. Place a greased tin can in the center to keep the hole round for a non-drip candle. Cover and let it rise until it’s double in bulk (which will take about 1 hour).
6. Now, to make the icing, mix all the icing ingredients together. Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Bake it for 25-30 minutes. Let it cool and lightly drizzle icing on top of it. To finish it up, place a candle in the center and enjoy the start to your holiday!

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