Hot Cross Buns

Every year around Easter, Mom made Hot Cross Buns. They are a traditional Good Friday treat. Besides the cross on top, I am not sure why these are served only on Good Friday. I like the buns more now as an adult than I did when I was a kid, and I think they would be delicious any day of the year.

Hot Cross Buns are a cinnamon and allspice yeast bread. The spices make this bread so tasty. Like all yeast breads, I find it helpful to use a thermometer to make sure the yeast is dissolved in the right temperature liquid. Typically the buns are about the size of a fist with a sugar glaze in a cross on top. The recipe calls for currants, but any raisins will do. This recipe also calls for scalded milk, which is milk heated to about 180 degrees or just as it starts to bubble.

Hot Cross Buns

• 3/4 cup scalded milk 
• 1/3 cup very soft butter or shortening 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 2 eggs, well beaten 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla about 
• 3 1/2 flour 
• 3/4 cup currants, simmered and drained 
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon 
• 1/8 tsp. allspice 
• 1 packaged dry yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water 

Pour scalded milk over butter, sugar and salt. When completely melted, add well beaten eggs and vanilla  slowly. When liquid is lukewarm, add dissolved yeast. Blend well. Add spice to flour. Add about half of flour to liquid slowly, beating dough until smooth. Add raisins gradually and blend well. Add the rest of the flour. Beat until dough is smooth and too stiff to mix with a spoon. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and kneed gently about 2-3 minutes. Put into greased bowl and let rise until double in size.

Turn out dough onto floured surface and kneed again about one-half minute. Let double a second time. After second rise, cut dough into 20 buns and shape round with hands. Place buns on greased cookie sheets and allow to double in size. Cut cross into top. Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes.

 For the coffee cake icing: mix together 1 tsp hot milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 1 cup powdered sugar. Top buns with a cross of frosting. Enjoy!

Grandma's Easter Patula

This year was the third year in a row that MDS and I have hosted Easter. We were lucky to have great weather so we could enjoy the outdoors, especially because the whole family came and it would have been very crowded if we were all inside. The nieces and nephews had a great time running around and playing games. It was nice to see everyone.

There are a number of traditional Easter dishes that we always have: ham, eggs newport, and hot cross buns. This year, I tried one from my Grandma's collection--Easter Patula, which is a traditional Italian savory pie. No one is sure of the source of the name, "patula." My online search reveals only a few plants that have the word patula in the formal name, including the French marigold. It appears that "patula" means "spreading" in Latin.

Mom said that Grandma used to make this dish just once a year on Easter. It is often served cold, but I served it fresh from the oven. It is delicious either way. Grandma's recipe makes an extra-large pie using a 9X13 pan, which shouldn't be surprising after a quick look at the ingredients. This dish is so good, it should be made more than once a year and could be a good pot luck dish.

Easter Patula 

Filling

• 2 1/2 pounds ricotta
• 6 hard boiled eggs, cut up
• 3 raw eggs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup parsley, cut up
• salt and pepper

Dough

• 4 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• sprinkle of black pepper
• 3 eggs (reserve one egg white)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Brown the sausage. Mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Meanwhile, mix together the dough ingredients. Knead for one to two minutes until smooth. Then, using just a little more than half the dough, roll out the bottom dough large enough to fit the bottom and the sides of the 9x13 pan. Carefully place the dough in the pan. Add the filling. Then roll out the top layer to fully cover the top and slightly overlap. After placing the top layer of dough over the filling, then cut off excess dough and crimp the edges together. Cut a few slits in the top layer. Bake at 400 for one hour. Allow to cool. Enjoy!