A truly sweet sign of spring

(Food styling/karoline boehm goodnick; yoon s. byun/globe staff)

One way to guarantee a cozy feeling on Easter morning is to pull a pan of cinnamony rolls from the oven, glaze them while they're still soft and warm, and set them on the breakfast table.

This generous pan of sweet bread won't stress the host as some baking projects do. The rolls, coiled like snails and baked side by side until they rise against one another, begin with a simple yeast dough. Like many raised sweet doughs made at Easter, this one contains lots of butter and egg yolks. It's also perfumed with ground cinnamon and vanilla. The taste of the extract is not prominent in the finished rolls; it simply underscores the flavor of the butter.

One reason this dough is easier than most is that it's made the day before. Let it rise once, roll it out, then brush the surface with softened butter and a hefty sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar, which makes a pretty swirl later. (Raisin lovers, you may knead 2/3 cup of dark or golden raisins into the dough after the first rise.)

Then roll up the dough, cut the log into thick slices, arrange them in a baking pan, and refrigerate overnight. Bake the rolls in the morning. They're tender, fine-grained, and quite appealing - especially with vanilla icing brushed on top.

Indulge your guests and celebrate the springtime holiday with the snails' inviting, fresh-baked aroma. The plump rolls are the stars of the table, and sweet company for a sprightly fruit salad, bowls of cool yogurt, and an eggy cheese frittata. - LISA YOCKELSON