WINTER

Christmas Morning Chocolate Swirl Buns

Start a family tradition and make a special breakfast treat to serve every Christmas morning. This recipe makes 4 giant buns. For classic smaller buns, roll the dough log, starting on the long end, and cut into 12 buns.

Makes 4 giant buns

Dough

1 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, plus additional for greasing bowl

3½ cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus additional for rolling out

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 package (2¼ teaspoons) instant yeast

½ teaspoon salt

Filling

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

⅓ cup granulated sugar

1 cup (6 ounces) finely chopped semisweet chocolate (or mini–chocolate chips)

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

3–4 tablespoons whole milk, as needed

For dough and filling:

1. In a glass measuring cup, combine milk and chopped butter. Microwave until butter melts. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine warm butter mixture, 1 cup of the flour, sugar, egg, yeast and salt. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes, until well blended. Add remaining 2½ cups flour; mix just until blended. If dough is too sticky, add additional flour until dough holds together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead for 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.

2. Lightly grease a large bowl. Form dough into a ball; place in the greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm area and let the dough rise for 2 hours, until doubled

3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; punch down dough and let it sit 5 minutes. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 10-by-20-inch rectangle. Spread 4 tablespoons butter over the dough. Sprinkle with sugar, then chopped chocolate. Starting from the short side, roll up the rectangle to a fat roll. Slice the rolled log into 4 equal pieces. Transfer buns to the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap; place in a warm area and let rise 30 minutes. (At this point, dough can be covered and refrigerated overnight. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature before continuing recipe.)

4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Cover rolls in the last 10 minutes of baking if they’re overbrowning. Let buns cool 5 minutes in the pan; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For icing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk icing ingredients to drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled buns.

TIP: If you prefer the classic cinnamon flavor, substitute cinnamon sugar for the chopped chocolate.