Easy Almond Twist!

Last week was sort-of the beginning of the end of the long road we've been on for the past two years.....my parents' illnesses, then helping to care for them, then being there for them both at the end of each of their lives, then cleaning out their household (sorting through memory after memory) and finally preparing for the auction. After many prayers, we were granted two sunny, gorgeous days. The auctions went well and by Saturday evening, we were able to stroll through an almost-empty house. 

That night, we came home and collapsed on the couch. I picked up an old cookbook I had kept out from the sale and began to glance through it. Of all things, it was an "idea book" for frozen bread dough from 1976! I winced at some of the ideas, but there were others I thought were clever and very tasty-sounding. It was great to flip through.....it reminded me of how much Dad, in particular, really loved my homemade bread. 

When Monday rolled around, I had a morning meeting, so I decided to try one of these easy recipes, though instead of frozen bread dough, I used one batch of the EZ DOH "basic" recipe (see "Stand-by Bread" on the blog). It turned out wonderfully - rave reviews from even my non-sweet eating hubby! 

Make a few memories of your own with this delicious and simple recipe!! 

Easy Almond Twist (makes 2) 

1 – EZ DOH “Basic recipe” for dough (or your favorite sweet roll dough)

Filling:

Combine the following-

1 Cup finely chopped (or ground) almonds (the original recipe actually called for dried bread crumbs and was called “Mock Almond Twist”

½ Cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. almond extract

Make dough and let rise. Punch down dough and divide evenly into two portions. Roll out half of the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14”x 8” rectangle. Spread with half the filling. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with the longer side. Cut in half lengthwise with kitchen shears or a very sharp knife. Carefully twist the two strips together, cut-side up. Shape into a ring in an 8” round cake pan. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise until light. (I covered mine with plastic wrap and let it rise overnight in the frig.) Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Frost warm coffee cakes with a confectioners icing made with almond extract. 

Easy Almond Twist!