Hot Cross Buns
Onion-Walnut Muffins, The Rainbow Room
Popovers
May Schoenfeld's Pumpkin Bread
Sfincione (a rustic pizza)
Summer Berry Muffins
White Whole Wheat Saffron Buns

Popovers
Makes about 9 popovers.

Preaheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Grease your ratty old muffin tins.

In a small, deep bowl, beat until just smooth:

• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk, preferably whole or 2% and not straight from the refrigerator
• 2 eggs, at room temperature and slightly beaten in advance

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full. Place in hot oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until richly brown.

Serve immediately with lots of cold butter.

If dinner is not quite ready and the popovers need to wait, turn off the oven and open it for a minute to let some heat escape. Tip each popover on its side to prevent their bottoms from getting soggy, or remove them from the muffin pan and let rest on the oven rack or on a cookie rack in the warm oven until serving time.

Hot Cross Buns
Based on a beloved 1950s recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

• 4 cups flour
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Scant 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup dried currants, chopped citron, or chopped mixed candied fruit peel
• 1 egg white, slightly beaten
• *Frosting (optional)

In a mixing bowl, blend 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and cinnamon. In a Pyrex cup in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove, heat the milk, oil, sugar and salt until warm (115º - 120º; a candy thermometer will assure you of the correct temperature).

Place warm milk mixture in a large mixing bowl. Beat in blended flour. Add eggs. Beat at low speed of an electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl frequently. Beat 3 minutes at high speed.

By hand, stir in currants and enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl; turn once, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (try the top of the refrigerator) until double in bulk (1 to 1 1/2 hours).

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Punch down. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 18 pieces; form into balls. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on greased baking sheets or use baking parchment paper (see Tips page). Cover with a towel and let rise until double in bulk (30-45 minutes). Using a lame, razor blade, or super sharp knife, slash a shallow cross in the top of each bun. Brush tops with beaten egg white (saving the remainder for frosting, if desired).

Bake at 375º for 12-15 minutes.

*Frosting (optional) :
Combine 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, reserved egg white, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (or choose lemon or orange extract, or a combination), and a dash of salt. Beat until smooth. Add milk, if necessary, until frosting is of piping consistency (frosting is firm enough so that when a spoon is drawn through it, the icing will not settle back but stay stiff). When buns have cooled, pipe a crisscross on the top of each bun. (Editor’s note: Divide frosting into 3 or 4 separate bowls, and using a light touch with the food coloring, create pastel frostings – palest pink, yellow, green and robin’s egg blue. You’ll need to clean out the decorating tube and bag between each color application.)

Makes 18 buns.

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White Whole Wheat Saffron Buns
Based on a recipe from a foodies recommended must-have, The New York Times Cook Book by Craig Claiborne. I’ve enriched the flavor of the rolls with a cup of King Arthur’s new, delicious and easy to handle 100% White Whole Wheat flour, but regular whole wheat or white flour can be substituted. Eat these buns on the day you make them – they are not good keepers. - Joy

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 package yeast
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup dried currants
• 1/4 cup mixed candied fruit peel, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 cup King Arthur’s 100% White Whole Wheat flour
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 egg white, slightly beaten
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Scald the milk with the saffron. In a large bowl, combine the milk mixture, shortening, sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm.

Sprinkle the yeast on the water and stir until dissolved. Add the yeast and water, egg, currants, peel, nutmeg, and whole wheat flour to the contents of the large bowl. Beat in enough of the white flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl and brush the top with oil. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place (80º - 85º) until doubled in bulk.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead one minute. Shape into 18 two-inch balls and place on two greased 8 inch square pans. Brush with egg white (reserving remainder for the frosting) and cover with a towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.

Bake in a preheated hot oven (425ºF) for 25 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack. Frost, if desired, with a confectioners’ icing made from the leftover egg white, confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract.

Makes 18 buns.