Sweet Rolls with Eggnog Glaze

As a little girl my grandmother used to take me to Rockland Bakery.  At the time, they let you go into the back production room and pull warm rolls and bread right off of a conveyor belt coming straight out of the oven. I can still remember that smell of warm, yeast dough baking.  If you have never baked yeast risen bread, you should just for the smell!  My favorite bread is Challah and my grandmother always let me pick one out on our bakery trips and I ate most of it myself!  To this day I have been known to polish off an entire Challah bread single handedly. 

This Sweet Roll recipe is reminiscent of Challah, the sweet, buttery, richness of it.   I also added a recipe for Eggnog Glaze.  Drizzled on to these rolls and sprinkled with sliced Almonds makes a perfect Christmas breakfast or brunch treat.  The rolls freeze well and the glaze can be made in a minute -a great option to make ahead for Christmas morning.   Just pull them out of the freezer the night before.   They will taste just as fresh as when you made them and save you the trouble of a lot of prep on Christmas morning.

Recipe: (Makes about 2 dozen rolls depending on how large you make them)

Rolls:
 1000g Bread Flour
600ml Milk (2% or higher)
120ml Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large Eggs
90g Dry Milk/Milk Powder
60g Granulated Sugar
20g Yeast (about 1 1/2 pouches)
10g Salt
60g Unsalted Butter

(Extra Egg for Egg Wash and optional food coloring to dye dough)

1. Combine Milk, Condensed Milk, Eggs, Flour, Milk Powder, Salt, Sugar, and Yeast in an extra large bowl.  Mix until it forms a rough ball.  
2. Turn out onto lightly flour surface and knead in the Butter.  This may feel a little sticky/messy.  Just keep kneading and it will eventually come together.  
3. Continue kneading the dough until smooth and it passes the window pane test (should be able to stretch a small piece of dough enough to see light through it without it ripping).  If it doesn't pass the window pane test, keep kneading.   If you are planning to add any coloring, best to do it while kneading.  I cut off about 1/3 of the dough and dyed it red for making candy cane rolls.
4. Place dough in a greased bowl or container, cover and let rise until double in size.  Takes between 1-2 hours depending on how warm of a spot you place it in.  I find that putting it in a microwave (not turning it on) helps to keep it away form drafts this time of year and helps it rise faster.  
5. Once doubled you can form your dough.  Simple balls work or you can get creative, pictured below is a small braided ring (braid 3 long pieces of dough and then connect around, pinching ends together).  
6. Once formed, place rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Leave to rise for about 45minutes.
7. Pre-Heat oven to 350 Degrees
8. Uncover rolls, brush with Egg Wash and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
9. Cool on wire rack.  Optional: Drizzle with Eggnog Glaze and sliced Almonds to serve. (recipe below)

Eggnog Glaze:

1C Powder Sugar

2 Tbs. Spiced Rum

2Tbs. Egg Nog

1tsp. Ground Nutmeg

1. Mix all ingredients until smooth.  
2. Add additional powder sugar to thicken to your liking.   
3. Drizzle over rolls and sprinkle with sliced almonds.