Oh, the silent majesty of a winter’s morn…

Name that Christmas movie…

Anyway, normally on Christmas morning, we get up around 6:00 am, have about 30 minutes of “Christmas” together before we have to run off to our first family event of the day.
This year, however, we managed to get the entire morning to ourselves. Oh what to do…what to do. We had nowhere to be until 12:30.
Well, we did NOT set the alarm. That’s for sure. We had an awesome breakfast.

On Christmas Eve, I had prepped some homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next morning. We’ve discovered a Giada recipe that uses hazelnuts instead of the usual pecans and a loaf of frozen white bread instead of making bread from scratch. I’m not typically a short-cut kind of gal, but it’s a really good batch of cinnamon rolls.

Only thing left to do in the morning was allow them to rise…

Then bake them…

And make the glaze. Oh the glllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaze. I could drink this stuff. It’s just mascarpone cheese, buttermilk and powdered sugar. Uh yeah.

We had to enjoy a little bubbly with breakfast to celebrate Christmas.

Before breakfast we opened stockings and exchanged gifts with each other. Here are a couple pictures of our loot.
Hubby’s presents…

My presents…

And to end, here is the recipe for the yummy cinnamon rolls taken from foodnetwork.com.

What You need:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (1-pound) loaf purchased frozen white bread dough, thawed
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon buttermilk

What You Do:
Allow the bread to thaw per the instructions (I usually just buy the Kroger brand and it works well). Brush 1 tablespoon of butter on a baking dish. Giada calls for 8×8, but I actually use a 9×13. Combine the next five ingredients. Roll out the dough into roughly a 9×12 rectangle – mine ends up being more like a 9×15. Brush with 1 tablespoon of melted butter, top with sugar mixture leaving a 1/2 inch edge along the long edges. Starting with a long side, roll up and pinch the seam to seal. Cut the log into equal size pieces. Giada says 9, but I end up with 12. Place in baking dish cut side down. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 45 minutes or so until puffy.
Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25 minutes, until golden. While baking, make the glaze. Mix the last three ingredients until smooth. Once baked, brush with last tablespoon of butter and drizzle with the glaze.

Extra tip: If you do not have buttermilk, you can add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to about a cup of milk. Let stand for 5 minutes. Good to go!