Candy Cane Coffee Cakes

Give your coffee cake a festive twist by filling it with cherries and cranberries and shaping it into a candy cane! Bonus: Since this recipe makes three cakes, you’ll have some to give as gifts!

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add buttermilk, eggs, 2 1/ 2 cups flour, butter, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium 2 minutes, scraping bowl often. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. ( Dough should be soft and sticky.)

Grease 3 baking sheets with shortening or cooking spray. On lightlyfloured surface, knead dough about 5 minutes or until smooth and springy. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll one part into 15"x9" rectangle; place on baking sheet.

Mix cranberries and cherries. Spread one-third of mixture in strip about 2 1/2" wide lengthwise down center of rectangle. Make cuts in dough at 1/2" intervals on both 15" sides almost to filling. Fold strips over filling, overlapping and crossing in center. Carefully stretch dough to 22" long; curve one end to form top of cane. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover; let rise in warm place until double in size, 1 hour. ( It’s ready if indentation remains when touched.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake 1 coffee cake at a time (refrigerate remaining coffee cakes while others bake). Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix all glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over warm coffee cakes. Decorate with almonds.

Servings: 36. Cals.: 160. Protein: 3 g. Fat: 3 g. (2 g. saturated). Chol.: 20 mg. Carbs.: 30 g. Sodium: 190 mg. Fiber: 1 g. Sugar: 13 g. Kitchen time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.