Strawberry Banana Oat Smoothie

It’s truly a rare occasion when this happens, but this weekend I found myself NOT craving anything sweet (insert shocked gasp). I blame this partially on my experimenting in the kitchen last week trying to come up with the perfect dessert for my baking competition at work. You can only “test” so many cupcakes in a batch… go figure. Needless to say, I found myself wanting something more on the healthy side when I woke up on Sunday morning.

Typically my breakfast staple is a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and a banana. But on the weekends I like to mix it up to keep things exciting. Using my oatmeal and banana combo as inspiration, I added in some strawberries, soy milk, and flavorings to make a nutritious and flavor packed breakfast. It would even make a great afternoon snack! So enjoy this reprieve from the cookies, cupcakes, bread, and cake—but don’t worry I’ll be posting my cupcake recipe for the dessert competition next week!

Strawberry Banana Oat Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 banana, frozen and cut into chunks
14 frozen strawberries
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

Directions
In a blender, combine soy milk, oats, banana and strawberries. Add vanilla and sugar if desired. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
Why frozen strawberries and bananas you ask? If you use frozen fruit in a smoothie, it will stay colder and be thicker than if your fruit was warm. Large fruits (like bananas or melons) should be chopped into pieces before freezing. Spread the pieces on a plate or baking sheet while in the freezer. That way they won’t freeze into one big lump. Once frozen, then you can store them together in a freezer bag or container.

Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes

I dedicated an afternoon last weekend to working on these little cupcakes. It was a labor of love one might say. I like recipes that have several steps that you need to coordinate in order for the finished product to come together. These cupcakes definitely fit the bill. Be sure you set aside a few hours if you want to make these little morsels!

This recipe was my first attempt at making caramel. In fact, to make this recipe you actually end up making caramel three times. Considering that one of my batches didn’t work out and I had to try again a fourth time—I consider myself somewhat of a caramel expert. During this process I gained a new appreciation for quality cookware that has an even cooking temperature. For my first attempt I used a Calphalon pot which is definitely quality cookware, but I had some trouble regulating the heat which resulted in my burnt caramel. For my second attempt, I used my All-Clad pot and there was a noticeable difference in the evenness of the temperature. It’s the first time when I’ve noticed a difference in this quality cookware. When you’re making pasta you might not notice the difference in a quality pan, but in certain circumstances, they definitely do make a difference. (Yes dad, you were right…and thank you for the All-Clad pan—it has now been used for more than pasta and rice.)

Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes Recipe
Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes

Cupcake Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Salted Caramel Filling Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons salted butter cubed
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Candied Salted Caramel Rounds Ingredients
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup water
2-4 tablespoons of large-crystal sugar

Cupcake Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with papers. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add vanilla. Mix and scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about halfway full. Bake for about 25 minutes. When done, transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

Salted Caramel Filling Directions
Melt the sugar over medium high heat in a large pot. Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color. Add the butter and stir it in until melted. Pour in the heavy cream (mixture will foam) and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. You may have some lumps but keep stirring until they have melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and pour in 1 teaspoon of caramel. Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside.

Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting Directions
In a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color. Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth. Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until lightened and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel. Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed (about 2 minutes). Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration. If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny. If this happens refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. Top caramel-filled cupcakes with frosting.

Candied Salted Caramel Rounds Directions
Lay out a large piece of parchment on your work surface and spray with cooking oil (such as canola). Fill a large tub (or your sink) partially full of ice water.

Put sugar, salt and cold water in a heavy pan; stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring syrup to a boil. Lower heat slightly and swirl the pan once or twice as the syrup caramelizes so it will color evenly; do not stir. When the caramel is deep amber, plunge the base of the pan into ice water for about 2 seconds to stop further cooking.

Working quickly, dip a spoon in the caramel and let it fall onto the parchment paper in a drizzle. Move the spoon in a circular motion as the syrup falls from the spoon. Repeat 15 times. When caramel has hardened (it will still be sticky) sprinkle on the large-crystal sugar. Remove from paper and adorn cupcakes.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
If you’ve never made caramel before let me offer a few tips. Use the heaviest gauge metal pot you have. Inexpensive or thin cookware heats unevenly, so drag out the most solid pot you’ve got. If you burn caramel, there’s not much you can do but toss it. It’s impossible to hide the taste of something burnt—so don’t even think about it. The best thing to do is to add more water to the pan and let it simmer, which will release the caramel and make the pan easier to clean. Not that this has ever happened to me… ;) 

Rosemary Lemon Amish Friendship Bread

This month my Amish Friendship Bread baking challenge took a new twist. I purchased some mini bundt bans at the store over the weekend, and wanted to put them to use right away. I figured if you can make Amish Friendship Bread in loaf pans and muffin tins—why not use a mini bundt pan?

Now that spring is in the air and it appears warmer weather is around to stay, it’s time to experiment with fresh springtime flavors. I decided to use a recipe that has hints of lemon and rosemary—two flavors that make me think of warmer weather. Typically you might think of these two flavors paired together for a savory dish such as chicken. I decided to pair them together in this bread recipe for a unique twist. The frosting drizzled over the top is the final touch that pulls everything together at the end.

If you’re interested in other Amish Friendship Bread recipes that I’ve tried this year, feel free to check out my Traditional Cinnamon Bread and Chocolate Cherry Almond Bread. Three recipes down and nine more to come… stay tuned!

Rosemary Lemon Amish Friendship Bread Recipe 

Bread Ingredients
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
3 eggs
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 small box lemon instant pudding

Lemon Glaze Ingredients
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Dash of lemon extract

Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed. Grease mini bundt pans and dust with flour. Pour the batter evenly into mini bundt pans until slightly less than 3/4 full. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Mix ingredients for lemon glaze and drizzle over the top once cooled. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary or lemon rind.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
This recipe yields a lovely and wonderfully moist bread. I used lemon pudding but if you’re not a fan of lemon, I’d recommend using 1 box vanilla pudding and eliminating the vanilla extract.

Lemon Bars

It’s been a weekend full of excitement here in the Sweet Precision kitchen. I’ve had a special guest visiting me here in DC… my dad! We’ve been busy doing some touristy things around the city and also doing some baking and cooking in my apartment. One of my dad’s favorite desserts are lemon bars, so as a surprise I bought all the ingredients so we could make them together. I’m not that big of a lemon fan myself, but these lemon bars are tasty enough to convert a critic. 

Spring demands lemon bars, but too often these bright yellow and shiny treats have flaws hidden underneath a fine layer of powdered sugar as they sit alluringly in a glass case. Lemon zest is really the key to a truly successful lemon bar and this recipe has a lot of it, so get those lemon zesters ready! In addition, it boasts a strong crust that can hold up to the tangy curd topping. The perfect finishing touch is some vanilla ice cream on the side—it’s the perfect complement to the tartness of the lemon curd.

Lemon Bars Recipe 

Ingredients
Butter for greasing the pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
6 large eggs
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons grated lemon zest

Directions
Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square pan. Combine 2 cups of the flour, the powdered sugar, and the salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and blend with a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press into the greased pan, pushing the dough all the way up the sides. Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes, then remove and reduce the oven temperature to 315°F.

Meanwhile, in another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Gently stir in the lemon juice and zest. (To minimize aesthetically displeasing little bubbles on the top of the bars, avoid whisking further.) Fold in the remaining 1/2 cup flour.

Pour the egg mixture over the hot crust and bake until the curd is set and no longer jiggles when you move the pan, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool thoroughly before cutting into bars. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
To prevent a soggy crust on your lemon bars, brush the crust with an egg white wash before baking. The egg whites will form a protective barrier between the crust and the lemon curd that you add later. Because egg whites are almost tasteless they will be nearly undetectable in your lemon bar crust when baked.

Spiced Skillet Bananas with Greek Yogurt

If you could be someone else for a day, who would you choose to be?

I puzzled over this question for awhile before the obvious answer dawned upon me. As a dancer, I decided I would want to be a young Judith Jamison. If you’re scratching your head wondering who this is, let me explain. Judith Jamison was a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater who later went on to be the artistic director for 20 plus years. She was an absolutely mesmerizing dancer. You can watch clips of her performances and choreography on YouTube and you’ll see exactly what I mean. If I could have one day to be someone, I’d want to have her skills and talent—if only for 24 hours. Speaking of dancing, it’s been much too long since I’ve been to a dance class. Somehow life has been busy and kept me away from the studio (or maybe I’ve been a little lazy too). This week I’ve decided to rectify this problem and I’m going to take a jazz and hip hop class after work one night. I might not be Judith Jamison, but it will feel good to stretch and move like a dancer again.

For my baking adventure this weekend I decided to keep things light. I didn’t feel like baking cookies or cake, and instead opted for a healthy option that you can pull together in seconds. It’s sort of a take on Bananas Foster—except without the rum and banana liqueur. I promise you’ll still enjoy it. I wanted something that I could use to showcase the new dishes I scavenged for at a fun shop called Miss Pixie’s in my neighborhood. Enjoy!

Spiced Skillet Bananas with Greek Yogurt

Ingredients
1 tablespoon margarine
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 cups sliced bananas
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fat free vanilla Greek yogurt
1/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions
In a large nonstick skillet, melt the margarine over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar, stirring until the mixture is bubbly and the sugar is dissolved.

Add the bananas, gently stirring to coat. Cook for 3 minutes, or until just softened and beginning to glaze and turn golden. Don’t overcook, or the bananas will break down. Remove the skillet from the heat. Gently stir in the flavoring.

Spoon the banana mixture over the Greek yogurt. Garnish will walnuts if desired. Serve immediately.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
For another variation on this recipe replace the bananas with thinly sliced peeled apples. Add some apple pie spice and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the apples are just tender.

Hot Dish

There are two words to describe what’s been going on in the Sweet Precision kitchen over the past week… hot dish. For those of you that aren’t Minnesotan, let me elaborate a little bit. A hot dish is a variety of baked casserole that typically contains a starch, a meat or other protein, canned or frozen vegetables, and canned soup. There’s absolutely nothing fancy about a hot dish casserole. Company won’t be impressed if you serve it to them for dinner, and your family will probably sigh with disappointment if you announce that it’s for dinner…again. I still cringe at the thought of the tater tot hot dish that frequented our school cafeteria menu when I was in college.

With all of this negative publicity, you’re probably wondering why anyone would ever bother baking a hot dish casserole. Let me provide you with a few potential situations. When it’s one of those nights you have no idea what to make from your leftovers—hot dish casserole comes to the rescue. If it’s time to clean out your cupboards and get rid of the canned veggies and soup that have taken up permanent residency—hot dish casserole comes to the rescue. Or maybe you simply want one big dish of something you can eat for the entire week—hot dish casserole comes to the rescue, again. That being said, when I decided it was time to do a little spring cleaning in my cupboards and wanted to make one big dish to eat for lunch the entire week, I knew exactly what I needed to bake. Enjoy the following recipe for a whole wheat pasta hot dish.

Hot Dish Casserole Recipe

Ingredients
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
3 cups whole wheat penne pasta, cooked
1 jar (24 ounces) spaghetti sauce
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups corn, canned or frozen
Spices and herbs, as desired

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Brown meat in large skillet and drain. Add pasta, sauce, cheese, corn, and spices. Spoon into 13×9-inch baking dish. Top with some of the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
Variation and substitution is the key to an award winning hot dish. If you have some frozen veggies in the freezer don’t be afraid to throw them in. If you have spaghetti instead of penne pasta, no one will know you changed the recipe. You can even decide what type of cheese you like best in the recipe. There’s just no way you can go wrong when making a traditional Minnesotan hot dish!

Cinnamon Rolls

Something exciting has happened behind the scenes of Sweet Precision that I’ve been remiss in sharing with you. There has been a very important addition to my kitchen within the past month. I finally bit the bullet and bought myself… a Kitchen Aid mixer! And to answer the next most obvious question, the color was candy apple red.

The list of things that I’d been planning to do with my new mixer was endless. One of the first things I decided to tackle was making bread. After suffering through gooey fingers and sticky counter tops when trying to make bread by hand, I was more than ecstatic to put my new mixer and dough hook to the test. My plan was simple—I wanted to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast. When I think about cinnamon rolls my mind imagines soft rolls that have just been taken out of the oven and are fragrant and warm. The finishing touch is the frosting drizzled over the top… simply delicious.

The recipe that I’m sharing with you today promises to deliver all this, and more. The added bonus to these rolls is the delicious cream cheese frosting that gets added after the rolls come out of the oven. It’s a truly decadent breakfast dessert that you will want to make when you have company. Be forewarned though, this is a recipe that takes a bit of time, so make sure you set aside a couple of hours in advance.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Adapted from Epicurious

Dough Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling Ingredients
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball. Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide). Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
When you go to the grocery store to buy your yeast, make sure you pay particular attention to what type you are buying. There are two types of dry yeast: Active Dry Yeast and Rapid-Rise Yeast. While there are some minor differences in shape and nutrients between the two, they can for the most part be used interchangeably in a recipe. Active Dry Yeast requires you to activate it in a little bit of warm water before being added to the rest of the ingredients. Rapid-Rise Yeast is a little more potent and can be mixed in with your dry ingredients directly.

Peanut Butter Fudge

It seems that musicals are becoming popular again with the success of movies such as Les Miserables and TV shows like Glee. This week I was pondering what my life would be like as a musical. Maybe it would be some type of mash-up between Chicago and Fosse—just without all the murders. But since I don’t have my own musical director or a set production crew, this exercise seemed limited to the afternoon wanderings of my mind. That is until I came up with the idea to create the musical soundtrack to my week by selecting 5 songs that I felt captured the comings and goings of my activities. So without further ado, I present the soundtrack to my week.

1. Monday: At the End of the Day, Les Miserables
2. Tuesday: Mister Cellophane, Chicago
3. Wednesday: Razzle Dazzle, Fosse
4. Thursday: A Spoonful of Sugar, Marry Poppins
5. Friday: I’ll Cover You, RENT

So where does baking fit into this post? Well since I’ve had a whirlwind of activity lately, I selected the easiest recipe that I could come up with for you! It’s only 4 ingredients, and if you’re efficient, the entire thing could be finished in 10 minutes. What on earth could be so simple? Peanut Butter fudge I tell you. I made this recipe when I was staying with Matt for the weekend and hid some of the extra in the freezer (since he has no self control when it comes to peanut butter). But shhhh… don’t tell him it’s there!

Peanut Butter Fudge
Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients
8 ounces unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound powdered sugar

Directions
Combine the butter and peanut butter in a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. The mixture will become hard to stir and lose its sheen. Spread into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Fold the excess parchment paper so it covers the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
Measuring peanut butter can quickly turn into a gooey mess as you try to scrape everything out of the measuring cup without leaving anything behind. To make this process easier, spray your measuring cup with cooking spray before adding the peanut butter. Then when you’re finished, it should slide out of the cup with no mess at all!

Chocolate Cherry Almond Amish Friendship Bread

This post marks the second installation of my Amish Friendship Bread baking challenge. As a part of this challenge, I’ve committed to baking one recipe each month using my Amish Friendship Bread Starter. For those of you that are new, Amish Friendship Bread is made from a sourdough starter and is shared in a manner similar to a chain letter. The starter is a substitute for baking yeast and can be used to make many kinds of yeast-based breads and shared with friends.

I learned an important lesson during this round of baking. There isn’t an exact science behind baking this bread—gasp! As I was chatting with my mom on the phone this week, we realized that there were several variations on the traditional recipe. Some called for two cups of the starter, while others only called for one. Some called for two small packages of pudding, while others called for one large package. For someone that embraces precision, this was hard for me to accept! Regardless, the important takeaway for you is that you can feel free to experiment with your Amish Friendship Bread.

Today’s recipe is a unique twist on the traditional cinnamon flavored bread. With the additions of chocolate pudding, cherries, and almonds, this recipe is moist and full of flavor. The almonds pair beautifully with the cherries and chocolate.

Chocolate Cherry Almond Amish Friendship Bread
Adapted from Friendship Bread Kitchen 

Ingredients
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 small boxes instant chocolate pudding
1 cup maraschino cherries,  drained
1 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder

Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

In a medium-sized bowl mix Amish Friendship Bread starter, eggs, oil, milk, and almond extract. In a large bowl mix sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and pudding. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Fold in cherries and almonds.

Grease two large loaf pans and dust with a sugar-cocoa mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder. Pour the batter evenly into the pans. Bake for one hour or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
If you have a problem with ingredients (think cherries or almonds) sinking to the bottom of your batter, try tossing them with a tablespoon of flour before adding to the batter. You can also try chopping them up into larger pieces. If all else fails, try reducing the liquid content of your batter. For instance, you could leave out one egg or add 2-3 tablespoons of flour.

Hot Cross Buns

Are you ready for a little baking history? Hot cross buns are often synonymous with Easter, but if you’re like me, you likely have no idea why. I did a little research to come up with the answer for you. We’ll start with the basics. A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top.

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten hot or toasted on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the Crucifixion and the spices representing those used in the entombment of Jesus. However, the actual origin of these treats appears to be a little hazy. Google the term and you’ll find a plethora of theories—that they go back to Roman times, that they are a Saxon thing, and even that they are a pagan rather than Christian item.

Still further references tie them only into the Easter tradition from the Elizabethan era. It is suggested that they were viewed with suspicion by some Protestants and that legal moves were made to restrict their consumption to Easter and some other festival periods. Who knew these buns had such a controversial past?!

With all these theories swirling about, I can’t give you the official origins of these buns—that’s for the historians to battle out. However, I can offer you this delicious recipe which I adapted from Cooking Light magazine. Typically these miniature buns run around are about 270 calories, but this revamped recipe clocks in at an impressive 180 calories per bun. It’s the perfect addition to your Easter meal.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients for Rolls
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried currants
1/4 cup warm orange juice (120° to 130°)
19 ounces all-purpose flour (about 4 1/4 cups), divided
4.5 ounces whole-grain pastry flour (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1 package quick-rise yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm fat-free milk (120° to 130°)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg white

Ingredients for Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
To prepare rolls, combine the raisins, currants, and warm orange juice in a small bowl and let stand 10 minutes. Drain fruit in a colander over a bowl, reserving fruit and juice.

Weigh or lightly spoon 18.5 ounces (about 4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour and pastry flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, salt, and next 5 ingredients (through yeast) in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached; mix until combined.

Combine reserved orange juice, fat-free milk, honey, butter, and 2 eggs in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. With mixer on, slowly add milk mixture to flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed 7 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Add reserved fruit. Knead 2 minutes or until smooth and elastic; add enough of remaining 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm, dry place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide into 24 equal portions; roll each portion into a ball. Place rolls in muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine 1 tablespoon water and egg white; stir with a whisk. Gently brush rolls with egg white mixture. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden, rotating pans once during baking. Remove from pans; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar and remaining ingredients in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Microwave at HIGH 20 seconds or until warm. Spoon glaze into a piping bag and pipe a cross on top of each warm roll.

Heather’s Helpful Hints
Don’t despair if you don’t own a piping bag. Before you run off to the nearest baking store, try this quick fix. Spoon your glaze into a zip-lock plastic bag. Seal the bag and snip a tiny hole in one corner of bag. Voila, you have your own homemade piping bag!