I have been having way too much fun participating in #Choctoberfest, and I so hope that  you have been enjoying all of the recipes, too! Not only from me, but all of the recipes created by this wonderful group of bloggers from around the world participating in this super fun event as well!! Thank you so much, Allison, of The PinterTestKitchen, for all of your hard work putting this event together! We are nearing the close of this event, so be sure to check out the main page to see new recipes posted daily by participating bloggers – – and don’t forget to enter the incredible Giveaway! (Details at the bottom of this post). 

This time, I’m using pure cane, non GMO, white sugar from our Gold Sponsor, Imperial Sugar! They have been a trusted name in kitchens since 1843, and their website is home to thousands of sweet recipes tested in the Imperial Sugar Kitchen. You can find Imperial Sugar on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, or join their Sweet Community so you can share your own recipes, save recipes to a virtual inbox, print Imperial Sugar coupons, and connect with other sugar lovers!

 

 

Today I’ve created a gorgeous Swedish Chocolate Cherry-Craisin Coconut & Pecan Tea Ring in honor of my Swedish Grandma! She was a wonderful cook and baker, and led a simple, quiet life with my Grandpa in a teeny little town in central Illinois called Tolono, which is right near Champaign, Il. She and my Grandpa lived in a little white house with a huge garden and clothesline in the back, on a small dirt road next to the railroad tracks where we used to wait to wave to “the man with big striped hat” on back of the little red caboose! I loved visiting my Grandparents, and Grandma always had something wonderful cooking on the stove and baking in the oven! So, this is for you, Grandma! Love you and miss you! You’ll always be in my heart!

If you’ve never made “sweet dough” before, now’s the time to start! It’s actually very easy and just uses basic pantry ingredients that you already have! You can make just about any shape you want out of it, including homemade cinnamon rolls! You can also make just about any filling you’d like, too, such as brown sugar cinnamon-raisin, sweetened cream cheese and jam, dried fruits of any kind, or go crazy and jump on the candied bacon bandwagon! Just have fun! But I decided to do an old-fashioned tea ring, and it will look like this as you go along:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And ta-dah! Beautiful! I glazed mine with a simple powdered sugar glaze,
and decorated the top with a few maraschino cherry halves.

 

 

You can make yours any way you choose, though. It makes for a wonderful holiday morning breakfast or brunch treat, and also makes beautiful gifts! Be sure to save, print or Pin this for the upcoming holidays!

 

 

Thanks again so very much to Imperial Sugar for being our Gold Sponsor for #Choctoberfest, and your generous donation to the Giveaway!
Some lucky winner is going to be over the moon happy!!!

 

Here are today’s recipes from participating bloggers from around the world getting together for #Choctoberfest! Please be sure to click on their recipes!

♦

And don’t forget to go to the main page of this event for all of #Choctoberfest’s info and enter the INCREDIBLE Giveaway!!! You’ll find everything you need to enter right {here}!!

 

I hope that my Swedish Chocolate Cherry-Craisin Coconut & Pecan Tea Ring
is something that becomes a new holiday favorite in your house soon!
Be sure to save it and Pin it for the holidays!! Enjoy!!

 

 

Yield: 1 (or 2) tea rings / 6 -8 servings per ring

Swedish Chocolate Cherry-Craisin Coconut & Pecan Tea Ring / #Choctoberfest!

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Ingredients

Sweet Roll Dough:

• 1 packet dry active yeast or 2 1/4 tsp.
• 1/2 cup warm water (105º - 115º)
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk, (scalded then cooled down to warm)
• 1/3 cup Imperial Sugar
• 1/3 cup butter-flavored shortening
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups AP flour

Filling:

• 1/3 cup chocolate chips, milk chocolate or semi-sweet
• 1/3 cup cherry-infused craisins (or snipped dried cherries)
• 1/4 cup coconut, lightly packed
• 2 Tbl. finely chopped pecans, (can sub walnuts, almonds or pistachios)

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbl. milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• maraschino cherry halves to garnish if desired (3 - 4 cherries)

Instructions

For Sweet Roll Dough:

In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, sugar, shortening, salt, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. About 5 minutes. Place into greased bowl, turn dough over so it's greased side up. Cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled. About 1 1/2 hours. (Dough is ready if an indentation remains when touched). *I always rise my doughs in the oven with the light on. Depending on the weather, and how active your yeast is, this may take up to 2 1/2 hours to rise.

Punch down dough, and it's ready to use. (*If using for another recipe, shape, let rise, then bake as your recipe indicates).

Do Ahead Tip for Dough:

After kneading, dough can be covered in greased bowl or greased plastic wrap, and kept in the fridge for up to 4 days.

For Swedish Tea Ring:

Divide sweet roll dough in half. Roll half of dough into a 15"x9" rectangle on lightly floured surface. Sprinkle evenly with filling, and roll up tightly from long side. Pinch long edge of roll into dough to seal well. Stretch roll a little to make even. Place onto greased baking sheet, or parchment paper or silpat-lined baking sheet, sealed edge down, and shape into a ring. Pinch ends together to make a complete circle. With sharp kitchen scissors, make cuts 2/3rds of the way through ring at 1 inch intervals. Turn each section at an angle on it's side. Let rise in warm, draft-free spot until doubled, about 40 - 45 minutes. Preheat oven while rising, to 375ºF.

Pop into preheated oven and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. *If dough browns too quickly, loosely cover with foil. Make sure bottom doesn't get too brown. Remove from oven, transfer to a platter or cutting board.

Make glaze and drizzle or pour over top while still warm. Decorate with cherries if desired.

For Filling:

Toss filling ingredients together to mix.

For Glaze:

Stir ingredients together in small bowl and mix until smooth. Use immediately.

Disclaimer: Though this company sent me product try, any and all opinions about this product are solely my own.