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Posts tagged ‘easter’

Mar 26

7 Comments

Faux Hot Cross Buns

The closest I’ve ever came to a hot cross bun while growing up was reciting the nursery rhyme, “Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns”.  I never actually knew what a hot cross bun was.  I grew up in a cornfield in Indiana, after all, so I didn’t know very much of the world!

Later on, I came to realize that a hot cross bun is a sweet, golden bun speckled with raisins and marked with a cross on top, and sold at Easter time.  The cross is supposed to symbolize the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  Or at least that’s what Wikipedia tells me about hot cross buns.

Whatever the original meaning of hot cross buns, it is obvious that they have evolved over the years.  Hot cross buns can now be found studded with chocolate chips instead of dried fruits, and I recently even tasted a mocha-flavored hot cross bun.

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Apr 12

Happy Easter!

I didn’t make anything specifically for Easter (except the baby bluebird cupcakes I made the other week).  But we were surprised with an Easter cookie bouquet!

We had taken the kids to an Easter Egg Hunt at a local park yesterday and came home to find a box on our front porch.  Inside was the Easter cookie bouquet – 5 huge butter cookies frosted with crunchy royal icing (and a slight hint of lemon?).

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They were sent from my mother-in-law via Secret Spoon Sweets.  They’re very yummy – our 2 young children just love them!

I hope everyone had a nice Easter!

Mar 30

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Baby Bluebird Cupcakes

It’s a bit early for Easter, but I couldn’t resist making these nesting baby bluebird cupcakes from Martha Stewart – instructions here.

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Mine are nowhere near as cute as Martha’s – they are very easy to make, but the hardest part for me was piping those tiny beaks.  I don’t have a small leaf tip, so I made one from a Ziploc bag, reinforced with tape.  Maybe that was my problem!

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I did not use the vanilla cupcake recipe or the chocolate buttercream from Martha’s instructions.  I used Billy’s vanilla cupcake recipe, and Martha’s basic buttercream recipe (both recipes divided in half).  I’ve made Billy’s vanilla cupcake recipe before, but this is the first time I’ve got to taste them – I love them!  I’ve been having a hard time finding a good vanilla cupcake recipe, but I really really like this one.

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I would like to try to make these again sometime, they really are super cute (well, Martha’s are, anyway!) and I’d like to perfect the beak-piping technique!