They want easy... me less so...

The kids had decided Monkey Bread was the plan for Christmas Morning, but I still wanted to play with some dough and yeast for Christmas Eve. These Twisted Cinnamon Sticks were on the plan, but since we had to get to church early - I didn't have time in the morning to mess around with yeast. I made the dough, rolled them out and twisted them the night before and stuck them in the fridge until bed time - then tossed them in the oven to proof overnight. They sure didn't look much different by morning, but I quick baked them and tossed some glaze on those that wanted it. These were very good - soft and cinnamony. Certainly an easy enough recipe to do when you don't have a lot of time or energy to mess around. Also makes the house smell amazing!

Twisted Cinnamon Sticks
Ingredients
2 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup water, warm (100-110 degrees)
1/4 cup milk (I use whole milk.)
4 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter, divided
1 large egg, beaten
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 1/4 cup confectioners powdered sugar
1/4 cup half & half (or milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put yeast and sugar in a small bowl, add the warm water and stir. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Heat the milk with 2 tablespoons of butter, until melted. Set aside.
Put one and a half cups of bread flour, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Add the proofed yeast, milk mixture, and beaten egg into the flour mixture. Mix by hand or with a dough hook on low speed. Slowly add the rest of the flour while it is mixing. Keep mixing until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Add additional flour one tablespoon at a time, if needed.
Take dough out of the bowl and set onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it for a few more minutes. Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes, covered.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
After the dough has rested, roll it out to a half inch thick and about 15 inches wide all around.
Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter onto the flat dough.
Sprinkle all of the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture on top of the buttered dough.
With a pizza cutter, slice up the middle and work your way out to the sides to get equal sizes of strips.
Fold each strip in half.
After folding the dough in half, pinch together the side of the open ends. Take each end and twist. Lay on a baking sheet about an inch and a half apart.
Place into the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. (Every oven is different and the sizes of the sticks may vary.)
For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, half & half, and vanilla.
Drizzle over the tops of the the warm twisted cinnamon sticks and serve!