Hot Cross Buns!

Okay, so I'm in the process of sprinkling the raisins on the dough, my little brother Marshall walks in the room and says, "I DON'T LIKE RAISINS!!"  And me, TRYING to keep a calm voice, reply,  

"I know Marshall, there are not much raisins, you can barely taste them."  

"Oh" He says.  "Mind if I take some dough?"  I role my eyes.

"Sure"  Marshall's idea of "some" dough is a whole fist full. "STOP!!"  I finally loose it.  I grab a tiny bit of dough and throw it in his hand.

"mm"  He murmurs as he shoots me an ungrateful look.  Oh, Marshall.  Marshall, Marshall, Marshall.  His hate for raisins over comes the little bit of politeness he has.  Okay, I'm going to completely change the subject here.  Who has read or seen the "Hunger Games"?  My gosh, if you have not seen it, SEE IT.  If you have not read the books, READ THEM.  Please, they are amazing.  Almost as amazing as these rolls!

First, to a saucepan heat 2 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup sugar.  Heat until very hot, but not boiling.  Turn off heat and allow to cool until warm, but not hot.  About 30 minutes.

Sprinkle 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons)  active dry yeast.

Add 4 cup flour.

Mix to combined.  Cover with a tea towel and put in a slightly warm place.  Allow to rise for 1 hour.

And here we go!  It's nice and HUGE.

Now add 1/2 cup flour,

1/2 teaspoon heaping baking powder,

1/2 teaspoon scant soda,

and 2 teaspoons salt.

Mix to combined.

Noe, to a small bowl, throw in 1/4 cup sugar,

and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. You can add little bits of other spices, like cardamom, nutmeg, or allspice.  Ginger would be nice, too.

Mix to combined.

Throw the dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Lightly press down dough with your fingers.

Now, sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the sugar/spice mixture on the dough,

Followed by a 1/2 cup of raisins.  But listen, only measure 1/2 cup raisins, then, sprinkle about 1/3 of them onto the dough.

Fold the the dough over it self.

put another layer of sugar/spice mixture and the raisins.  Do this third time, this time using up all the raisins and sugar.

Now, pinch off a golf ball size of dough and take the edges of the dough and bring them to the bottom.

Place them on a greased baking sheet and cover with a towel, put in a warm place and allow to rise for a good hour.  PLEASE don't think you can just wing this step, if you skip this, you'll end up with a big ball of what ever, and let me tell you, they will not be pretty.  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Throw an egg white into a bowl,

and add enough milk to brush all the rolls.

Brush the rolls with the glaze and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a deep brown.

to make the icing, simply beet together 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar to make a very thick icing. If you have enough powdered sugar, your icing will NOT look like mine.  I only had about 1 cup. But as it turns out, I COULD barely wait to sink my teeth into this, this amazing role.

Enjoy!

THIS RECIPE IS FROM PIONEER WOMAN