One of my favorite things is brunch. I'm not a breakfast person, I do not make breakfast every morning, and I typically do not enjoy it. But if you suggest brunch, I AM IN. I love it. I don’t know the difference, but I am all for a good brunch. I love to host brunch just as much as I love to go out for brunch. I would not miss it for anything. This recipe is a super simple, make ahead,
sweet brunch bread.
I made it for my family for Thanksgiving morning. I made it ahead of time, which was wonderful as we all got up and ran a 5K, although my ever ambitious older brother ran a 10K. It was fun. I had not run in a month due to injury, so it was a nice way to get back into running. I ran with my dad, who had not run in much longer, but he was able to keep pace, just a little behind my sister-in-law, and a long way behind my brother. Anyway. . . I made the bread ahead of time.
In the morning, I took the bread out of the fridge to come to room temperature and rise while we were gone. My mom graciously preheated the oven when we told her we were on our way home. Then all I had to do was put it in the oven. This is another recipe that fills your house with a great aroma, the kind that makes you think of all things holiday and making you hungry at the same time :)
It is a chocolate cinnamon pull apart. It’s incredibly similar to cinnamon rolls except with chocolate and no rolls! This is another recipe that you probably have all the ingredients for in your cupboard right now. Seriously, go look; the variable is probably the yeast. First, we activate our yeast. I did it right this time (I'm learning). Then we make the dough; it’s not supposed to be incredibly sticky. Then we let it sit for an hour our so until it doubles. Then punch her down, seriously so fun.
Here comes the difference with cinnamon rolls. Divide your dough into 4 sections. Take one section and roll it out relatively thin, butter it, and sprinkle cinnamon/sugar on top. Then sprinkle mini chocolate chips on your dough and press in. Now, cut the dough into squares. You should be able to get 12, so 4 slices one way and 3 the other. I used a knife. Later I went and watched the recipe video, and she uses a pizza cutter, way smarter. Next, stack the squares together. I stacked all 12 squares. In the video, she stacks per row, so she had 3-4 squares per stack. Both will work, just don’t let your stack fall over. While you’re stacking, you’ll lose some cinnamon/sugar and some chocolate chips. Don't even worry about that; you can add the loose ingredients to the top once you put it all together.
Repeat this with each section of dough. Then place in a greased tube or bundt pan. I used a bundt pan, which I greased and then put a thin layer of flour on to prevent sticking, I had no issues. Put your stacks side by side in the pan like putting books on a shelf but sideways :). Then cover, and let rise for approximately one hour. After that you can put it in your preheated oven and wait for that Christmas cookie candle aroma to fill your house. You only need to bake it 30-40 minutes or until it’s golden.
I prepped mine through putting it in the pan, then I put it in the fridge until I was ready to bake it. I took it out and let it sit on the counter for 2 hours (hello 5K registration and run). Honestly, I baked it a touch too long. The squares pulled apart wonderfully, just like they are supposed to. But if I had baked it maybe 10 minutes shorter, it would have been a little more doughy, which is always nice with this kind of treat. This one I will definitely bake again. Everyone loved it, and we only had 4 or 5 pieces left, which of course were eaten by the end of the long weekend.
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chocolate-cinnamon-sugar-pull-apart-wreath/#wprm-recipe-container-114401
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