Spoon & Shutter

From Spoon: Hot Cross Buns have long been a part of my family’s Easter food traditions. I’ve never made them – the yeast part always seems daunting in the midst of other holiday preparations, and I’ve never been entirely happy with the packaged ones at the supermarket (good bakeries are a better source). I think I remember my Dad – a prolific and gifted baker as well as an Episcopal priest (now retired) – making them, but that seems odd, given how busy he was at Easter time.

So when I came across a recipe for Hot Cross Muffins, it was a eureka moment. I just baked them this afternoon – using ingredients I already had in my pantry and fridge, and while they of course don’t have the texture of the yeast version, the flavor is spot on. And they made the house smell fabulous. If you don’t have currants (mine were left over from fruitcake baking at Christmas) you can use raisins, chopped up. Or mini chocolate chips – but that’s veering a bit far off the Hot Cross mark. The point is, you still have time to make them for Easter morning breakfast.

Note: Lisa, of the delicious baking blog Sweet as Sugar Cookies, invited us to share this recipe for Sweets for a Saturday. We are thrilled!

Hot Cross Muffins

1/2 cup orange juice

3/4 cup currants

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour (you can use 2 cups all-purpose as in the original recipe, but I wanted to add a little more nutrition)

2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. each ground cloves and allspice

1/2 cup milk (low-fat is fine)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

zest of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon

Heat the orange juice in a small saucepan until just boiling; remove from heat, add the currants and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups or coat with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, oil, vanilla and zests until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry with the orange juice/currant mixture; blend until just combined. As with all muffins – do not over-mix or they will be tough.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin, then remove to a wire rack.

Adding the wet ingredients to the dry

Mixing in the currants

Filling the muffin cups

Ready for the oven

For the icing:

1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1 tbsp. lemon juice

When cool, ice the muffins in a cross pattern.

Recipe adapted from the Associated  Press