Hot Cross Buns

I still try to make hot cross buns on Good Friday each year. Last year the buns I made were really good, but the recipe was really tedious. This year I used this bread machine version without the bread machine since I gave it away. It was easier, but not as good as last year's. I need to find the perfect recipe that is easy to make yet most delicious.

Hot Cross Buns

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH
1 cup (250 mL) milk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter
3 1/2 cups (875 mL) Robin Hood® Best For Bread Homestyle White Flour
1 tsp (5 mL) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cloves
1/4 tsp (1 mL) nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) salt
1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) bread machine yeast
1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped, mixed candied peel

GLAZE
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp (15 mL) water

ICING
1/4 cup (50 mL) icing sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) milk



DIRECTIONS
TOOLS

dry measuring cups
liquid measuring cups
measuring spoons
bread machine
board
tea towel
sharp knife
small bowl
pastry brush
baking sheet
parchment paper
wire cooling rack

Add ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's directions.
Select Dough cycle.
Add raisins and mixed candied peel at "add ingredient" signal. When dough cycle is complete, remove dough to floured surface. Cover with tea towel and let rest for 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each into a ball. Place balls 2" (5 cm) apart on greased baking sheet and flatten slightly. Cover with tea towel. Let rise in warm place (75°-85°F/24°-29°C) until doubled (30 to 40 minutes). With a very sharp knife or razor, make two cuts 1/4" (5mm) deep on surface of buns in the shape of a cross. Combine ingredients for glaze and brush on buns. Let rise another 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cover with foil if overbrowning occurs. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. Combine ingredients for icing and drizzle over cooled buns.

TIPS
For variety and a bit of tartness, replace the raisins with dried cranberries.

I managed to make it without the bread machine, board, tea towel, pastry brush,parchment paper or cooling rack, and they still turned out well.

Chocolate Crinkles

This is from an old cookbook. It looks like Mom wrote in her own version of the original, so I used her changes. Basically she doubled it and used cocoa instead of baking chocolate.

Chocolate Crinkles

My camera phone is pretty bad.

3/4 c cocoa
3/4 c oil
2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 t vanilla
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c powdered sugar

The directions were for using baking chocolate, so I just mixed cocoa with the oil and continued as directed.

Combine, chocolate, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together and add flour, baking powder, and salt. Chill for an hour or place in freezer for a short time. Form into little balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased baking sheet, but do not flatten. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

They were good, but not great. I used some applesauce in place of the oil, and that made them pretty puffy. I probably won't make them again. There has to be a better recipe out there for chocolate crinkles.

Chocolate Braids

In one of the issues of Taste of Home that I have, there is a section of Easter breads. I've wanted to try some, and I finally made one. I still want to try walnut-filled coffee cakes and two-toned yeast bread, but I'm not interested in the pistachio ring. Sounds like something Ben Joslin would like.

ToH's picture

Chocolate Braids

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 40 min. + rising Bake: 30 min. + cooling
MAKES: 16 servings

Ingredients
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
1/3 cup honey, divided
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg

My picture

1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 to 3 cups bread flour
CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
TOPPING:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
ICING:
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 2 teaspoons honey; let stand 5 minutes. Add butter, egg, cocoa, salt, 1-1/2 cups bread flour and remaining honey. Beat 2 minutes or until smooth. Stir in enough remaining bread flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down; divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll one portion into a 12x7-in. rectangle.
In a small bowl, beat filling ingredients until smooth. Spread half of the filling over dough to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal.
Place seam side down on a large greased baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut roll in half lengthwise, leaving one end intact. Carefully turn cut sides up. Loosely twist strips around each other, keeping cut side up. Pinch ends to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°. For topping, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Add nuts. Sprinkle over loaves.
Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. In a small bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, cocoa, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over warm loaves. Yield: 2 loaves (8 slices each)

Nutritional Facts
1 slice equals 274 calories, 11 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 36 mg cholesterol, 147 mg sodium, 43 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein.

It was very good. Brian liked it enough that I marked it as a favorite. I liked it, but not as much as Brian. I almost didn't include the macadamia nuts because $$$, but I'm glad I did. Other nuts would probably be okay, but I liked the macadamia nuts a lot. It was very tedious to make, so I probably won't make it much. Cinnamon rolls are easier than this. Plus, look at the nutrition facts. Brian ate 7 pieces. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Roasted Carrots

It's embarrassing that it's taken me three months to post a recipe as easy as this.

Roasted Carrots
From America's Test Kitchen

1.5 lbs carrots, peeled, halved crosswise, and cut length wise to make even pieces
2 T melted butter
Salt and pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. In large bowl, combine carrots with butter, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper; toss to coat. Transfer to foil lined baking sheet and spread in single layer.
2. Cover baking baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook, stirring twice, until carrots are well browned and tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to serving platter, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

We love this and make it frequently.  I can't handle too many boiled carrots,  but these are fine. One note though-- don't use baby carrots, they don't taste as good.

Black Bean Soup

This recipe came from a food storage pamphlet the Columbus Ohio Stake put out.

1 1/2 cups dried black beans
vegetable oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish
4 cups soaking water
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed thyme
sour cream to garnish, optional

Pick over and clean beans. Rinse then place in bowl with soaking water. Place in refrigerator to soak overnight then drain and discard water. Add enough vegetable oil to large saucepan to saute onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat about 2 minutes then add tomatoes and herbs. Cook about 5 more minutes then add drained beans to saucepan, cover with three cups water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered about  2 hours. Add more water if necessary to prevent beans from drying out. When beans are tender drain and reserve bean broth. Process beans in blender or food processor until smooth. Add enough of the reserved bean broth to make soup consistency. Return soup to saucepan and heat through. Season as desired with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top with sour cream and sprinkle with parsley as desired.

Makes 5 one cup servings.

We all liked this. I don'r think I drained the beans, but instead just blended it all up together. The consistency was perfect. The only thing we would change is to use some chicken bouillon
to give it a little more flavor.

This will be a good recipe for us to have around if times ever get really rough and we have to live off our dry bean supply.

Greek Lamb Pockets

1 lb. ground lamb or beef
1/2 c. barbecue sauce
2 T parsley flakes
1 t. salt
1/2 t. mint flakes
1 med. pepper cut into strips
3 rounds petra bread, halved
1 small onion
plain yogurt or sour cream

Brown meat, add sauce, seasoning, and vegetables. Simmer 5 minutes. Wrap bread in aluminum foil, bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Fill with meat mix, serve with yogurt or sour cream.

These were okay, but definitely not Greek in any nature. Big Chubb was very disappointed. Little and Baby Chubbs both did not like it because they saw the green peppers.

I made some flat bread using Mel's recipe. They were awesome! I have yet to come across a bad recipe from her.

Sprouted Wheat

I've never sprouted wheat before, but since this "recipe" is in my collection, I thought I would give it a try. We seem to have no problems digesting normal wheat, so I'm not looking for the supposed health benefits of sprouted wheat.

Sprouted Wheat

Place 3/4 c of clean washed wheat in a quart jar and over wit 3/4 c of warm water. Soak about 12 hours. Drain off the water, saving it to use to make soup, juice, etc. Rinse the wheat, drain, and put the bottle in a cupboard where it is dark and warm. Don't handle or interfere with germinating wheat. Gently sprinkle a little water over the grain two or three times a day. For ventilation, tip the bottle on it's side. Cover top with nylon net, nylon stocking, or gauze, secured with a rubber band. Your sprouts are ready to eat when they have reached 1/4 inch long, which will be in two or three days. Place jar in a window to acquire sunlight for a few hours; this adds chlorophyll. Refrigerate.

This was a fail. Some of the wheat sprouted really fast, but I kept it in the cupboard longer so the rest could sprout. By two and a half days, not all the wheat had sprouted yet, but the first sprouts were over an inch long, and it was starting to mold.

I poked around the internet a little to see what I did wrong. Apparently there are special products dedicated to sprouting wheat and other things. Since we digest normal wheat just fine, I don't plan on investing money on such a product, but I would like to successfully sprout some wheat so I can try sprouted wheat bread.

Chicken Hawaiian

Here is one last chicken recipe from our chicken marathon.

1 large green pepper, cut in strips (I halved them in half after that so they weren't really long)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. salad oil
2 cans cream of chicken coup
1 can (13 oz) pineapple tidbits in juice
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed
2 T. soy sauce
3 c. cooked rice
1/4 c. slivered almonds.

Cook green pepper and garlic in saucepan with oil. Stir in  soup and pineapple juice. Add chicken, pineapple tidbits, and soy sauce. Heat slowly. Serve on Rice. Top with almonds.

I warned Big Chubb that this would be like Hawaiian Haystacks a little. He said he was pleasantly surprised because he doesn't like haystacks. Little and Baby Chubbs liked it a lot, too!

It came together really fast, especially since we had some cooked chicken in the freezer. However, we had to wait extra long for the rice. The burner either wasn't on all the way or the pan wasn't on the burner so the brown rice took extra long to cook. If you do make this I would only use one can of cream of chicken soup. It made lots of sauce, so I would just cut the soup down so there is more pineapple and soy flavor. There were enough leftovers from our dinner of Sunday that we are having this again tonight!

Chicken Casserole

We've been on a chicken roll here, so here is another recipe. I had never had this until Big Chubb. Apparently, his family ate this frequently while growing up. I have quite a few variations of this recipe, too, so here is what we usually do.

I froze this for post surgery, and it cooked up great!

Cooked chicken
A can of cream of chicken soup
Some sour cream
A box of stuffing mix

Mix the chicken, soup and sour cream. Top with made stuffing. Bake in 350 degree oven until it is heated through/bubbly.

Always a dinner winner in our house. Big Chubb likes to pull out some jellied cranberry sauce and have an almost Thanksgiving dinner. In fact this would be good use of leftover turkey, gravy and stuffing.

Other variations include some ham lunch meat and Swiss cheese to make it chicken cordon bleu casserole.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

I think I have a million variations of this dish in my collections of Mom recipes. Coincidentally, this is also a favorite easy meal that the kids love. It works great as a freezer meal, too, so if I am feeling extra generous when I take meals to people, I take this one along frozen. In fact, we have one waiting in the freezer.

Here is the gist:

Some cooked chicken shredded or cubed
Some broccoli
Some cream of soup (I typically use chicken) or make up your own.

Mix it all together and bake until heated all the way through, usually 350 degree oven.


I like to add in cooked rice (white or brown) to make a complete meal in one dish. I also mix in or sprinkle cheese on top. Just make sure that you taste it because it usually needs lots of salt. When I freeze it, I just let it thaw and then bake. I have never had trouble with this recipe after freezing it.

The best part is that both little Chubbs gobble it right up. It is filling and it hits 4 food groups which makes me happy. Sometimes if I want to make the meal a little heartier, I'll add another cooked vegetable on the side.