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Swedish Tea Ring Recipe For the Holidays

Are you ready to “wow” everyone with this Swedish tea ring recipe? 

Check out this tried and true family Swedish Tea Ring recipe that we’ve given and shared in our community for generations. 

Growing up, I used to help my mom make Swedish tea rings for the holidays. People would order them for their holiday parties, Christmas or Easter morning breakfast or for gifts for others. Needless to say, we got really good at making them. 

Sometimes, I’ll just make a tea ring for my family to eat with chili soup. Unless you’re from Kansas or Nebraska, you probably won’t understand that. So, we’ll just leave it at that. It’s kind of our thing but you’re welcome to try. 

But another fun part is decorating them! You can use all kinds of different toppings. I’ll share a few of our go-to’s later on this post. 

Also in this post, I will:

  • Share my family Swedish Tea Ring recipe for the holidays with you. 
  • Show you exactly how to make it (it is a little tricky at times).
  • Give you some ideas for how you can share this yummy tea ring with others. 

Swedish Tea Ring Recipe for the Holidays

Ingredients you need for the Swedish Tea Ring Recipe

  • 1 Package Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 T. warm water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3-3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup butter 
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Ingredients for Center Filling

  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 T. brown sugar
  • 1 T. Cinnamon

Ingredients You Need for the Glaze/Toppings

  • Powdered Sugar
  • Milk
  • Mara chino Cherries
  • Dried Fruit
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Nuts
  • Any Others – The possibilities are endless!

How to Make the Swedish Tea Ring Dough

  • In a small bowl, mix yeast, sugar and warm water. Let it sit for a minute and watch the yeast start to come alive. 
  • In a larger bowl, mix the dry ingredients: Salt, Flour, and Sugar. 
  • In another bowl, mix the liquid ingredients: Milk, Butter, egg and vanilla. 
  • Slowly mix the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients. You’ll eventually need to use your hands to finish mixing. The result will be a soft dough. 
  • Set covered in a dark place to let rise for 1 hour. 

How to make the Swedish Tea Ring

  • Flour a clean surface to roll out the dough. 
  • Roll out into a rectangular shape about 1/2 inch thick. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon mix. You can add nuts and dried fruit if desired. 
  • Now, tightly roll up as you would normally do a jelly roll. Place on a greased pizza pan down on the seam of the roll. 
  • Take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut through to almost to the end. Cut at 1 inch intervals. Turn each piece to the side. Tweak and turn until the ring is as pretty as you would like. 
  • Cover and set aside to rise again for 30 minutes. 
  • Bake at 350 degrees F. for 18-20 minutes. 

Decorating Your Tea Ring

Once your tea ring is baked completely and out of the oven, you can start decorating it. I would suggest letting it cool for a while so that the glaze doesn’t just run off the ring. 

To mix up the glaze: It’s really really easy. I start with a half cup powdered sugar in a bowl. Add a little milk and stir. If too thick, add a touch more milk. If too runny, add a touch more powdered sugar. 

It’s really just a preference thing but you should be able to just drizzle that glaze over the top of your tea ring. It will make a beautiful, glistening sweet addition to your tea ring. 

You can also add in any of the toppings I mentioned above. Those have just been a favorite I have used over the years. Again – The possibilities are endless. Feel free to add your own favorite toppings to this. 

Swedish Tea Rings Make Great Gifts

Here are a few ideas of people or events to give or bring a Swedish Tea Ring to:

  • Teachers
  • Pastors
  • Neighbors
  • 4-H Leaders
  • Friends
  • Brunches
  • Holiday Parties
Swedish Tea Ring Recipe for the Holidays

Hand Made Gifts are from the Heart

It doesn’t matter what kind of gift it is. Hand made gifts always win. People love them. 

And it’s been proven time and time again that people LOVE this Swedish Tea Ring recipe for the holidays. Not only does it make a great hand made gift, but it is the perfect breakfast or combination with soup on a cold day. 

Now, you have the recipe and the tutorial to make them yourself. Enjoy!

~ Much Love ~

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