Italian Christmas Bread with Eggnog Glaze

½ cup hazelnuts

1 cup eggnog, plus

1 tablespoon eggnog

2 tablespoons white sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 egg

1 egg yolk

3 cups bread flour

1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast

2 tablespoons anise seed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon eggnog

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

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.

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.

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.

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.