I’m not really sure how a Swedish Tea Ring recipe became a holiday tradition in a German/Irish/English household but my mom has been making it for Christmas morning breakfast since I was a kid. Swedish Tea Rings tastes sort of like cinnamon rolls but even better. Like many breads, it’s an overnight project so my mom starts making a Swedish Tea Ring on Christmas Eve. It’s delicious. And I think that Swedish Tea Rings look super pretty and festive, too.
This is my mom, the Master Swedish Tea Ring Maker.
And this is her well-worn Swedish Tea Ring recipe card that she makes every year for our Christmas breakfast…
…and the back. (Note the super basic frosting recipe, ha! Don’t worry; I’ll show you more details on how to ice and decorate your Swedish Tea Ring for Christmas breakfast.)
A Christmas Breakfast Tradition
This is our annual delicious handmade Swedish Tea Ring tradition that pleases both kids and adults.
This make-ahead Christmas breakfast idea rises overnight to bake in the morning, which makes for a super easy and low-stress Christmas morning breakfast. And the smells! There’s nothing like cinnamon and bread smells on Christmas morning. I highly recommend it for your Christmas morning family breakfast tradition!
A Swedish Tea Ring became an Indiana Christmas staple, and I plan to keep up my mom’s tradition with my own family. Mmm, cinnamon bread. What foods and smells remind you of being home at Christmas?
Keep reading to see how to make a Swedish Tea Ring – it’s an easy Christmas breakfast recipe tradition that both kids and adults look forward to each Christmas morning.
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- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup warm water (not hot!)
- 2 packages yeast
- 2 eggs beaten
- 5 to 5-1/2 cups unsifted flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- Melted butter
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
- ⅓ cup raisins or nuts
- Powdered sugar and milk
- Red cherries
- Scald milk. Stir in sugar and butter until melted. Cool to lukewarm (tip: be patient and make sure to cool it or you’ll kill the yeast and/or cook the eggs, neither are good).
- Put water in a large bowl, sprinkle yeast on top. Add milk and mix.
- Beat 2 eggs and mix in.
- Add salt and 2 cups of flour.
- Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour one cup at a time.
- When it begins to form a ball, put it onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.
- Place in a greased bowl, turn over once like so.
- Cover with a wet towel. Rest 1-1/2 hours until doubled in size.
- Punch down and roll into a 14″ x 18″ rectangle and brush with melted butter.
- Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle. Add nuts or raisins (optional).
- Roll up from one end, bend into a circle and tuck ends together best you can.
- Snip every inch ⅔ the way and twist open.
- Lay a towel on top and allow to double in size. We usually let it go overnight but if you live in a warmer climate that may be too long.
- Bake 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Make frosting and top with cherries.
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Ready to make this Swedish Tea Ring recipe? My mom is going to walk you through it step-by-step…
Step 1: Combine scaled milk, sugar, and butter and cool to lukewarm
First, scald 1 cup of milk (here’s why).
Stir in the sugar and butter until melted.
Cool the milk/sugar/butter mixture to lukewarm (tip: be patient and make sure to cool it or you’ll kill the yeast and/or cook the eggs, neither are good). Put 1/2 cup lukewarm (not hot) water in a large bowl, sprinkle 2 packages of yeast on top. (NOTE: Be sure to use a large bowl for this step. We did this step in a small bowl and then remembered it should have been in the large bowl, so had to pour it into the large bowl).
Step 2: Add milk and eggs to yeast
Add milk to the yeast/water mixture and stir. Beat 2 eggs in a separate bowl.
And mix the eggs into the milk/yeast/water mixture.
Step 3: Add salt and flour and knead
Add salt and 2 cups of flour to the milk/yeast bowl.
Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour one cup at a time.
When the Swedish Tea Ring dough begins to form a ball like so…
Put the Swedish Tea Ring dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. This is a fun step for kids to help too.
Place the Swedish Tea Ring dough into a greased bowl, turn over once like so.
Cover the Swedish Tea Ring dough with a wet towel. Rest 1-1/2 hours until doubled in size.
Step 4: Roll out the dough and form the Swedish Tea Ring
Once the Swedish Tea Ring dough has doubled in size, punch it down once in the middle. This is a fun step. My mom used to let me do this when I was little.
Roll the Swedish Tea Ring dough into a 14″ x 18″ rectangle if making one large tea ring, or split the dough into two pieces if you’re making two small rings.
Brush the Swedish Tea Ring dough with melted butter.
Mix the topping – sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle with the sugar.
And then add optional nuts or raisins, really as much or as little as you’d like.
Roll up the Swedish Tea Ring rectangle from one end.
Bend the dough into a circle and tuck ends together best you can.
Snip the dough every inch 2/3 the way and twist open. Doesn’t it resemble cinnamon rolls?
Step 5: Let rise, bake, and decorate the Swedish Tea Ring
Lay a towel on top of the Swedish Tea Ring and allow to double in size. We usually let it go overnight in a cold spot in the house, but if you live in a warmer climate that may be too long — so in warm climates, you can it make ahead by baking it now and re-heating it in the morning.
Bake 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Make frosting and top with cherries, nuts, M&Ms, or your family’s favorite treats.
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Be sure to pin this Swedish Tea Ring recipe for later:
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Ho! Ho! Ho! Here are some more Christmas DIYs and recipe traditions:
Easy DIY cookie packaging in 5 minutes
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Festive pot-luck storage containers for cookie exchanges and holiday gatherings
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Personalized printable mitten holiday gift tags
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Bonnie Z {Quintessential Quarters} says
My mom has made this every year for Christmas brunch!! I’ve never seen anyone else make the same exact thing until now! Thanks for sharing.
Melisa says
If you can’t leave overnight how long to let it double in size then bake it? My gramma makes this every year in dozens of batches for her church and family. Except its called coffee rings in my family. Love it!!
Pat Wilson says
This recipe looks like the tea ring my mom used to make when I was a kid. I always loved her wonderful Christmas morning breakfasts. Are you suppose to stir in the 2 tsp salt along with the sugar and butter to the scalded milk? Also, is part of the 5 to 5 1/2 cups of flour used to flour the surface for kneading or is this amount used just to make the bread with an additional amount for flouring the surface. As you can see, I am a novice when it comes to making homemade bread. Thank-you for this fabulous recipe.
Becky says
I lost my mom’s cherished tea ring recipe, and this is the closest to it that I can find! Please edit the instructions though-to add the salt! I’m assuming to the milk along with sugar and butter? I ruined my first batch, because I was following the directions and missed the salt! Thanks, though! Love the pictures of the original recipe! I’m going to add pictures of my mom’s to my on-line cookbook!
Mary says
Well, my mom was French and she ALWAYS made this for Christmas morning and several to give to our neighbors. I think the became very popular with the early 50s edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. My mom always prided herself in making it look just like the photo in this cookbook.
Susie says
I’m in Indiana also and my grandmother was from Sweden so this recipe was definitely meant for me! I cant wait to try it!
Susie says
I’m in Indiana too, and my grandmother was from Sweden so this recipe was definitely meant for me. I cant wait to try it-thanks for sharing!
Kathy Beymer says
Hi Susie, that’s so cool! Nice to meet a “neighbor” – and enjoy the recipe. It’s so yummy!
Debbi says
Oh what a surprise it is to see this. You did a beautiful job not only providing the recipe but the pictures are a nice touch. I am part Swedish from my mothers side and this was a family tradition from Sweden dating back to the earliest relatives and a family favorite that my mother made. I am surprising her with this homemade .sedish Tea ring as she is coming for Christmas.
Thank you and have a very Merry Christmas.
Kathy Beymer says
Hi Debbie, this is so cool! Thanks for your kind words, and please come back and let me know what you think of the recipe, if it tastes like what you had in Sweden. You can comment here or tag me on instagram (kathybeymer) or facebook (merrimentdesign). Merry Christmas!