Sugar Twists

My husband is very fond of these, so I make them because I am fond of him. Haha. In this batch, I used some vanilla sugar I made (his fav), but I like them better with a sugar-cinnamon mixture. You make the dough the night before and then roll it out and bake it in the morning. It does not need a second rise, so goes quite quickly and is a nice addition to a brunch. They are best fresh out of the oven while they are still crunchy.

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast (that is a Tablespoon, a teaspoon and a half teaspoon, for the conversion-challenged)

AND, choose one of the sugars below. There is no sugar in the dough, so you will incorporate it when you roll them out. (Yes the dough still rises without the sugar, just not as much as bread dough.) This external sugar will add crunchy goodness when you bake them.

Vanilla Sugar (my husband’s favourite)
Split and scrape a vanilla pod and put the seeds and the pod in a cup of sugar overnight or a couple weeks. Shake frequently. The longer you leave it, the more vanilla flavour and essence the sugar absorbs.

OR
Cinnamon Sugar
Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to a cup of sugar.

To make the dough:
Beat the eggs. Stir in the cream, water, salt and butter. Mix the yeast into the flour and then add to the butter mixture. Mix until smooth. I use the dough hook on my mixer for about 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and cover two cookie sheets in parchment paper.

Divide dough into two parts. Roll the first one into a log shape. You will use one of the sugar mixtures to roll out the dough and keep it from sticking to the counter. Unlike using flour for this purpose, you want to incorporate half a cup of the sugar mix into your piece of dough. Roll the log in it, and sprinkle it on the dough as you roll it out. You want a 6×15 inch rectangle when you are finished.