Holiday Bread Wreath Food

CHRISTMAS WREATH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the butter, milk powder, sugar, egg, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 18x12-in. rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and cinnamon to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal., Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet; pinch ends together to form a ring. With scissors, cut from outside edge to two-thirds of the way toward center of ring at 1-in. intervals. Separate strips slightly; twist to allow filling to show. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes., Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Combine confectioners' sugar, water and extract; drizzle over warm bread.

HOLIDAY BISCUIT WREATH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray.
• Cut each biscuit into 2 half moons to make 48 biscuit pieces. Separate the pieces into 2 piles.
• Working with half of the dough, flatten a piece of biscuit in your hand and stuff it with a cheese cube and about 1/4 teaspoon fig preserves (it is easier to roll if you use the little pieces of fig from the preserves). Gather the dough around it and roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough, cheese and jam to make 24 balls; set aside.
• With the remaining dough, stuff and roll each piece of biscuit with an olive.
• Toss the almonds and parsley together in a medium bowl. Toss the Cheddar, paprika and cayenne together in another medium bowl. Put the melted butter in a small bowl.
• Alternating every so often between the two flavors, dip the cheese and jam balls in butter, then roll them to coat in the almond topping; and dip the olive balls in butter and roll them to coat in the Cheddar topping. Arrange the balls in the tube pan so that the flavors are interspersed.
• Bake the bread until golden brown all over and the dough is baked through, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate and serve warm.