Ingredient: candied citron peel

Dried Blueberry Lemon Hot Cross Buns

I find the aroma of the hot cross buns baking so intoxicating. Brion & I have always loved these soft, spicy little buns. Each year, at Easter time, I really enjoy making some version of Easter bread or buns (of course, trying to make it just a bit better than the year past). While I was giving this some thought, I read a comment where someone was complaining that they had too many hot cross buns leftover from Easter. Is there really such a thing as having too many hot cross buns … seriously!

While hot cross buns are now sold and enjoyed throughout the year, they were once reserved for Good Friday alone. There is no one clear explanation … some theories rest in Christian symbolism while there are also more than a few stories that indicate hot cross buns were baked on Good Friday for superstitious reasons.

Every year I like to try and make a different version of these traditional, seasonal treats. This year I’m going with some dried blueberry lemon hot cross buns. Should be good!

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 Dried Blueberry Lemon Hot Cross Buns
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword dried blueberry lemon hot cross buns
Servings
Ingredients
Buns
Egg Wash
Glaze
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword dried blueberry lemon hot cross buns
Servings
Ingredients
Buns
Egg Wash
Glaze
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Buns
  1. In a small dish, dissolve 1 Tbsp sugar in lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast over the surface. Do not stir. Let stand for 15 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sugar & lemon zest with fingers. Add flour, salt & cinnamon & mix well. Add prepared yeast along with melted butter, egg & egg white. Combine with a fork then add blueberries & citron.
  3. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 10 minutes. If dough is quite sticky add a LITTLE more flour.
  4. Cover & allow to sit in a draft-free, warm place for 30-40 minutes.
  5. Line pan with parchment paper or butter a 7x11-inch baking dish. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts & form into balls. Place them in the prepared pan & let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
  6. Whisk together egg wash & lightly brush over buns before baking.
  7. Before buns are finished rising, preheat oven to 350 F. Bake buns for about 30-35 minutes.
  8. Remove from pan & let rest on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes before piping on the glaze crosses.
Glaze
  1. Mix together powdered sugar, milk & vanilla (if using) until smooth. You will want this to be quite a stiff glaze so only add enough milk to bring it to a thick consistency. Pipe crosses onto the tops of the slightly warm buns. A Ziploc bag with a corner snipped off works well for this small job.

Citron Anise Pudding Cookies

Although pudding cookies have been around forever, it’s always interesting to take a basic recipe and personalize with flavors that appeal to you especially. I have always had loved the flavor of both citron and anise, so I decided to incorporate them in this cookie. I have very vivid memories of my mothers’ huge, wonderful garden, on our farm in southern Alberta. Citron was one of the melons that she grew and made it into a nice, preserved fruit for the winter months. I just loved it, but it seems this melon has become extinct these days. The reason can be deduced from historical seed catalogues. Throughout the period of about 1910 to 1950, whenever imported winter fruit and reliable refrigeration arrived in a region, the local seed companies tended to drop citron melon seeds from their catalogues.

The real value of citron melons was that they kept for nearly a year with no special storage, which means a rural family could depend on them for winter food (with some boiling and sugar), and they could be processed into sweet desserts at any time of year when there was less outdoor work to do. Combined with the fact that the plants require very little care, and can yield a decent crop in poor soil, citron melons were a very practical source of useful fruit for farm families and rural communities.

Citrons were a preserving melon, not meant for fresh eating that were widely grown by farm families and gardeners in the 1800s and early 1900s, all across Canada.

Since the flesh of the citron has no color or flavor of its own, it could be combined with other fruit to ‘extend’ them, making more jam, pies, and preserves. I recall my mother putting raisins with hers.

Anise can be a bit of a polarizing spice. It has the flavor that most people associate with licorice and tends to be something you either like or you don’t. I have always enjoyed the taste, so combining with citron makes a match made in heaven.

The tradition of using anise seeds to flavor meals and desserts dates to the time of the ancient Romans. It is said that the Romans would serve large cakes flavored with anise at the end of their feasts in order to enhance their digestion. 

Now this brings us to the question ‘why use pudding mix in cookies’? Added to cookie dough, pudding mix yields unbelievable texture and depth. They come out of the oven nice and crunchy on the outside, but they maintain that delicious soft, chewy texture on the inside. Cornstarch is a key main ingredient in instant pudding, so it probably makes sense that it helps make pudding cookies super soft and chewy. And when it comes to the recipe, you’ll want to choose your pudding mix carefully. An instant pudding mix is required.

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 Citron Anise Pudding Cookies
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Cuisine American
Keyword citron anise pudding cookies
Servings
DOZEN
Ingredients
Cuisine American
Keyword citron anise pudding cookies
Servings
DOZEN
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together flour & baking soda; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together butter & sugar until light & fluffy. Add pudding & beat until well blended. Add eggs & vanilla, mix well.
  4. Add flour mixture slowly until well incorporated. Add anise seed & citron peel; beat just until incorporated.
  5. Roll into 60 - 1-inch balls & place on baking sheet. They don't spread much but still need a bit of room .
  6. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until set in the center. Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to completely cool.

Anise Citron Biscotti

When most people mention biscotti, they actually mean a specific type of Italian cookie called ‘cantuccini’. Italians use the term biscotti to refer to any type of crunchy cookie, round, square and otherwise as the British use the word biscuit. Here in North America, biscotti refers to a specific type of Italian cookie, derived from the ‘Tuscan cantuccini‘, which is a hard, almond flavored cookie that is baked twice and usually served with the sweet Italian dessert wine, Vino Santo. This wine is loved for its intense flavors of hazelnut and caramel. When paired with biscotti, Vino Santo is inarguably Italy’s most famous welcoming tradition. What makes this wine truly special is the natural winemaking process which gives it a unique taste.

The word biscotti derives from ‘bis’, Latin for twice, and ‘coctum’ or baked (which became ‘cotto’, or cooked).

The original biscotti was created by a bakery in Prato, Italy. Cantuccini became a staple in the Tuscan cities of Florence and Prato then spread throughout the Italian peninsula. Tuscan biscotti are flavored with almonds from the plentiful almond groves of Prato. From the original recipe it expanded to lemon flavored dough as well as other flavors and spices with additions such as raisins, dried fruits and peels to chocolate morsels and nuts.

Biscotti have been baked for centuries and its iconic texture was the perfect for for sailors who were at sea for months. In modern times, biscotti range in texture from very hard to somewhat spongy and more cake-like. First, the sticky dough is shaped into a log and baked until firm. After a short cooling period, the log is sliced into diagonal pieces and baked again to cook out the moisture and produce the crisp, dry-textured cookie with a longer shelf life. The classic recipe has no butter or oil, using only eggs to bind the ingredients together. They are typically made in a 3, 5 or 7-inch size.

I have to be honest, biscotti has never been one of my ‘go-to’ cookie recipes. But, for something quick and easy, I decided to make a small recipe using two of my favorite ingredients …. anise seed & citron peel. Brion & I tried dipping them in wine and we realized we have been missing out on something real good!!

Print Recipe
 Anise Citron Biscotti
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword anise citron biscotti
Servings
Ingredients
Course Brunch, dessert
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword anise citron biscotti
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
  2. In a bowl, combine oil & sugar followed by vanilla & eggs.
  3. In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder & anise seed then gradually stir this mixture into the egg mixture. Lastly, fold in citron peel.
  4. Divide dough in half & form into two logs (about 6"x 2"). Place logs on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  5. Bake for about 30-35 minutes; remove from oven & set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 F.
  6. Cut logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices. Lay the slices on their sides on lined baking sheet.
  7. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through baking time.
  8. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.