Have I ever told you that Laird and I kind of got engaged on Easter Sunday 2009? And that homemade Hot Cross Buns may have sealed the deal?
I say "kind of got engaged" because no, Laird didn't dress up like the Easter Bunny, scatter rose petals from an Easter basket or hide a ring in a plastic egg. There wasn't a proposal at all, really, so much as a simple conversation about the future; a future we committed to create together as a married couple.
But there were Hot Cross Buns -- the first batch I ever made, and the first Laird had tasted since leaving South Africa seven years prior. You see, Hot Cross Buns are everywhere in South Africa -- at supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations -- especially at Easter. But they're nearly impossible to find in Southern California, so I did what I tend to do: I made my own.
I don't recall the recipe I used. They were good, not great. I remember thinking they needed more raisins, sugar and spice. But hey, Laird ate them and decided to marry me, and now we have an Easter tradition and cute story, so let's not be fussy about it.
When I made Hot Cross Buns this year (last year we spent Easter traveling back from South Africa via Dubai, where our interrogation by military police -- Laird had packed a timing light in his checked baggage -- caused our plane to be delayed and my life span to shrink by a good 10 years), I used Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's recipe. It's brilliant in that she calls for layering spiced sugar and raisins in the dough, which by the way is probably the easiest yeast dough you'll ever make. I made it entirely by hand, and as long as your yeast is fresh, it's foolproof.
But there were Hot Cross Buns -- the first batch I ever made, and the first Laird had tasted since leaving South Africa seven years prior. You see, Hot Cross Buns are everywhere in South Africa -- at supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations -- especially at Easter. But they're nearly impossible to find in Southern California, so I did what I tend to do: I made my own.
I don't recall the recipe I used. They were good, not great. I remember thinking they needed more raisins, sugar and spice. But hey, Laird ate them and decided to marry me, and now we have an Easter tradition and cute story, so let's not be fussy about it.
When I made Hot Cross Buns this year (last year we spent Easter traveling back from South Africa via Dubai, where our interrogation by military police -- Laird had packed a timing light in his checked baggage -- caused our plane to be delayed and my life span to shrink by a good 10 years), I used Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's recipe. It's brilliant in that she calls for layering spiced sugar and raisins in the dough, which by the way is probably the easiest yeast dough you'll ever make. I made it entirely by hand, and as long as your yeast is fresh, it's foolproof.
I took only two liberties with Ree's recipe: I doubled the raisins (we really like our raisins) and was more generous with the sugar-spice mixture (mine was heavy on cinnamon, with a dash of freshly ground nutmeg and a pinch of ground cardamom).
Ree's Hot Cross Buns turned out so perfectly, it makes me wonder: had I made them that fateful Easter in 2009, would Laird have dressed up like the Easter Bunny, scattered rose petals from an Easter basket, and proposed with a ring hidden inside a plastic egg? I'll never know, but it certainly seems plausible.
