Lemon & Dried Blueberry Hot Cross Buns

I couldn't be bothered making Easter cookies, even though I have to donate some baking to the SPCA bake sale on Saturday, but luckily I came across a new food blog, Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, that had the perfect solution: Hot Cross Buns.

I'm ho-hum on Hot Cross Buns. My mom loves them, but I'm not a fan of the dried fruit that goes into them. Natashya had a great recipe up for Magazine Mondays that caught my eye and really appealed to me, Lemon Currant Hot Cross Buns. Except I'm not huge on currants.

Enter the dried blueberry, which I happened upon by accident recently at my local overpriced grocery store. I thought this recipe would be the perfect opportunity to try them out. Man, 1 1/2 cups cost me nearly $6.00! I nearly choked at the cashier. But I decided to buy them anyways, and when I got them home and tasted them, I found I liked them better than fresh blueberries. I substituted them for the currants in the Hot Cross Bun recipe and it worked out brilliantly.

The dough, as it rose, smelled completely amazing, and as they baked, my roommate said she could smell them outside as she hacked away at our snowbank in the front yard. I did make the mistake of not decreasing my oven temperature for the glass pan, so my buns were a little overbaked, but the end result was marvelous. These are the best Hot Cross Buns ever!

I didn't pipe on the white icing, but rather drizzled it on in a cross-like pattern, letting the icing drip where it may. I took the pan for dinner at my dad's last night and these were a huge hit.

Thanks Natashya!