Italian Christmas Bread with Eggnog Glaze

Ingredients

• 0.5 cups hazelnuts
• 1 cup eggnog , plus
• 1 tablespoon eggnog
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 0.5 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons butter , softened
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1.5 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons anise seed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. 2

   Spread hazelnuts evenly on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the nuts to a bowl, and let them cool.

3. 3

   Place the eggnog, sugar, salt, butter, egg, egg yolk, bread flour, yeast, anise seed, and cinnamon into the bread machine. Program the machine for a basic cycle with the crust as "medium." Press start. Do not use the delay timer.

4. 4

   Place the cooled toasted hazelnuts into the machine between Knead Cycle 1 and Knead Cycle 2. When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool on a rack.

5. 5

   Prepare the glaze by combining the confectioners' sugar and eggnog in a bowl; mix well. It should be a drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glaze on the cooled bread before slicing.