All I seem to write these days are book reviews, written a month after the fact and with already hazy memory.  It’s more like an exercise in what I remember about a book than in really digging into things and writing a proper review.  Oh well – better late than never.  It’s interesting to see what sticks, and which books I have trouble finding something to say about, and which reviews just roll off the tongue (or my fingers).  It definitely, definitely comes in handy that I keep track of what I read – I use that list all the time at work to jog my memory for recommendations and book-lists.

At any rate, here’s a change of pace with a recipe that I assigned to Bronwen for the weekend of Palm Sunday – yes, two months ago.  Since that was the last weekend of the Lenten fast, I made them vegan, and ever since I’ve been meaning to make them again to see how they turn out with the correct ingredients.  And then once I made them again, I was going to report back.  But that second batch still hasn’t managed to materialize – maybe I’ll be inspired on Monday and turn them into Memorial Day buns – somehow that seems appropriate.

Being a yeast dough, this recipe requires a little patience, but not too much actual work.  I used this Hot Cross Bun recipe, which I believe I also used last year.  I replaced the milk, butter and eggs with almond milk, coconut oil, and egg replacer, which probably made for denser buns.  However, the flavor was great and the denseness satisfying.  Also, I was kind of enamored with the zests, as you can see, so I added some extra (pretty much one lemon’s worth and one orange’s worth).  I also cut out the dried fruit, since I don’t really care about it either way.

Instead of the recommended egg glaze and dough crosses, I made icing with powdered sugar and a little almond milk.  I made it too thin so my icing crossing were a little dribbly and malformed, but a touch of frosting adding a nice sweet note.

At my church, we traditionally make these for Palm Sunday and serve them after liturgy.  I left a few at home, just in case I didn’t manage to grab one of my own, and ate them for breakfast the next day.  Gosh, my mouth is watering just thinking about them.  I’m a sucker for a hot cross bun – why limit them to one holiday?  (We do this in my family – take foods strongly associated with one holiday and eat them at other points in the year – like our annual Turkey Dinner in May, which is coming up this Sunday).

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