FORTY-NINE

 

O Catmas tree...

2023 week forty-nine

It's my favorite week of Saints' days! St. Nicholas always visits the fourth graders with chocolates and oranges. We leave our shoes in the hallway during morning work for him. 

Pickles helping Theo write his Christmas list. 

Festive Scouts. 

Decorate a Den Leader. 

"Look, we're playing World War I. I'm a British soldier, and I'm a Japanese Samurai." Not sure how often those two were in direct battle during that war, and if anything would have been allies, but surely a samurai wouldn't have been present? Creative Historical retelling at best here. 

Barricade and catapults set up to attack Bethlehem. 

Theo and V made a really great A-Frame style Christmas fort. It even has a fireplace and they hung their stockings up in it. 

Pickles with all his baby cats. 

On Saturday we finally got our Christmas tree! 

It immediately turned Pickles feral. He has now taken up residence under the tree and it is his territory in perpetuity. 

V helped me make gingerbread cookies. 

And my favorite feast day: St. Lucia's day! We celebrated a few days early because V is not going to be able to get up on a school day early enough to bring us coffee and cinnamon buns in bed. 

She made the coffee all by herself, but I made sure the cinnamon buns were ready for her by 7. 

Then we watched Charlie Brown Christmas in bed. 

The cinnamon buns weren't bad, but I made half of the batch as cranberry orange rolls and they were FANTASTIC. I'm linking the recipe here because I want to remember this one. I used half the sugar in the dough, and double the zest in the glaze. They were tart and soft and delectable. 

Cranberry Orange rolls from Plated Cravings

 https://platedcravings.com/cranberry-orange-rolls/

Ingredients

• ¾ cup whole milk heated to 95°F/35°C (180ml)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (100g) (I only used 1/4 c) 
• 2 ¼ tsp instant dry yeast
• 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (530g)
• ½ cup cornstarch (120g)
• ¾ tsp salt
• 3 large eggs room temperature
• ¾ cup unsalted butter cut into 12 pieces and softened (180g)
• 2 tsp orange zest

For the cranberry orange jam:

• 4 cups cranberries fresh or frozen (400g)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
• ¼ cup fresh orange juice (60ml)
• 2 tsp orange zest

For the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar (120g)
• 3 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 tsp orange zest

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment combine warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Stir together with a whisk then let sit for about 5 minutes until foamy.
• Meanwhile combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Add the eggs to the milk mixture and whisk until combined.
• With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture. Increase speed to medium and mix until the dough comes together, about 1 minute.
• With the mixer running on medium, add butter, one piece at a time. Add the orange zest.
• Continue to mix for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is still wet after 10 minutes, add one or two tablespoons flour until the dough comes away from the sides.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough into a smooth ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, put it in a warm place and let rise until doubled in size, about 1.5-2 hours.
• Meanwhile make the cranberry jam: Combine cranberries, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer gently for about 15 minutes, until most of the cranberries have burst open. Let cool completely.
• Punch down the dough and roll it out into a 18x18 inch square. Spread the cooled cranberry jam on top, leaving a 1-inch border.
• Starting with the edge nearest you, carefully roll dough into a cylinder, pinch lightly to seal seam, and cut into 12 pieces with a sharp knife.
• Arrange rolls in a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Or refrigerate overnight, see instructions above.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Discard plastic wrap and bake rolls until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Then transfer pan to a wire rack.
• Make the glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest together until smooth. Drizzle or spread over warm rolls. Serve.