The Perfect Time Of Year For A Cross Examination

“Why cross?” Miss7 wanted to know. “Why are they hot cross buns?”

I have a confession – I am the sort of person a lot of people love to hate.

I am the sort of person who is responsible for cranky comments in the supermarket and spikes in blood pressure.

I am the sort of person who makes a lot of people shake their heads, dumbfounded at my stupidity.

In short, I am the sort of person who loves hot cross buns all year round.

Not that I’m a total nutter. I’m happy to jump on the bandwagon about how annoying it is to hear Christmas carols being played in November, or Easter Eggs on the shelves straight after Boxing Day. But I will stand uncharacteristically silent and shuffle off to another aisle if I hear anyone vocalizing the idea that hot cross buns are seasonal.

Because, obviously, they are not. Trust me, they taste just as good in February or May or October.

Sadly, my kids have never been as smitten by hot cross buns as me.

I swear, it’s the name. It’s so frowny.

Which is why it’s so super exciting to me that Coles have some fantastic alternatives now available on their shelves! And because I was asked to try them out on my brood I brought home four flavours and set up a taste test to find out who liked what best.

Of course, I knew my favourite before I’d even taken a bite. I’ve had a thing for stewed apple ever since I sank my teeth into an apple turnover at my high school tuck shop (tuck shops were a lot more sugary when I was a kid).

And I’m not saying it was a unanimous vote of confidence on all four flavours with my kids. In fact, as expected, because I know who likes what in my family, I heard the word yuck more often than not. Especially from Miss3 who currently, despite being not a baby, likes only dairy based products. Specifically, milk.

But in the end everyone had their absolute favourite. Non more-so than Master9 who demanded four more hot cross buns for breakfast the following morning.

The results of this very exciting ‘scientific’ research are published here for the first time:

Bruce – Apple & Cinnamon, with butter

Tracey – Raspberry & White Chocolate, with butter

Miss11 – Chocolate, without butter

Master9 – Apple & Cinnamon, without butter

Miss7 – Fruitless, with butter

Miss5 – Fruitless, with butter

Miss3 – Butter

Fruitless hot cross buns are brilliant. Miss7 and Miss5 aren’t fussed on sultanas in their bread. Which is odd, because they both love sultanas on their own. But they were a bit smitten with the buttered buns we gave them.

Not as smitten as Miss11 though, who saw the chocolate flavoured buns filled with chocolate chips and, I swear, both feet let the floor as she dove to secure them all for herself. The way she’s going, this girl will star in chocoholic memes.

Obviously, as you can see from the results of this ‘research’, there was no chance of Master9 getting four Apple & Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns for breakfast because his Dad likes yummy things too. Happily, these buns were every bit as super as I expected, with their apple and cinnamony magic and just enough spice. However, Master9 did manage to snag himself three for breakfast.

But only because I turned my back on my plate for half a sec.

So now I have at least six members of this family who like an assortment of hot cross buns I shall be doing my best (read as buying them whenever I do the shopping) to encourage Coles to keep up their production well after the Easter long weekend has finished.

And if you try a flavour or two you might just want them to as well.

Then maybe we can lobby to have the ‘cross’ bit taken out of the name so everyone can stop being so annoyed about seeing them on the shelves in June!

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“Raising a family on little more than laughs”