Are you feeling lucky?
I guess if you are Irish then you are feeling lucky. I wonder, do the Irish always feel lucky? Can I borrow some of that luck? How Irish do you have to be to inherit this luck? I really have a lot of questions about this.
I want to take this opportunity to tell you about my latest obsession (I wish obsession was an overstatement, eh). I finally took the plunge and started building out my family tree on Ancestry.com. I have found the process to be a little bit addicting. Here’s how it works, you type in a name and a birthday and before you know it there is tree growing on your screen. Well, the tree doesn’t actually grow, you have to sort through a bunch of online records to determine who is who. Well, when I started putting in information on my dad’s side it didn’t take long for things to grow.
So far I have discovered that his side stayed in the same places (PA, Maryland, Illinois) and those that resided in PA pretty much owned all of Fayette County…well maybe they didn’t own it but there were quite a bit of them living there. Also, they made booze which is AWESOME! Side note: I am trying to determine if the family legend that we are related to George Washington is true, stay tuned!
My mother’s side of the family is a little bit trickier. I have been able to slowly build out the tree using obituaries that my mother so wisely kept. Our Louisiana roots are strong and that is something I already knew so it was good to get confirmation. So far I have been able to plot in family members dating back to the late 1880’s. It is at this point that I have to tread carefully. I may click on a green leaf that will unravel a family narrative that I have not yet heard. Who knows what might exist beyond the 1880’s, who knows what kind of door I’ll open and what knowing certain things will do to me or do for me. I have to think that no matter what darkness is in my tree there is also the chance that there is light. I may find out that the real Irish in me comes from her side of the tree…
I think it is fitting that this recipe comes from my Hollymead collection. If I am going to make a dish and talk about family heritage then that dish should be a family recipe. My grandmother had a recipe box filled with dishes from all over the globe so it does not surprise me that she has this Hot Cross Muffin recipe. It’s easy and delicious. I hope you find a way to enjoy these this St. Patty’s Day. They would probably go well with green beer or a Shamrock Shake. I also realize that these may be more closely linked to Easter and Lent than St. Patrick’s day but we’ll just let that go.
Hot Cross Muffins
Notes
I used a store bought cookie icing for these muffins, they come in packs that have tips on them which make them very easy to use and control.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All Purpose Baking Mix (e.g., Bisquick)
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Tsp. Salt
- 1 Tsp. Cinnamon
- 2 Eggs
- 3/4 Cup Milk
- 2 Tbsp. Vegetable or Canola Oil
- 2 Tsp. Grated Orange Peel
- 1/2 Cup Dried Currants
- Vanilla Icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Prepare muffin pan using muffin/cupcake liners or spraying with non-stick cooking oil.
- In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients except for the currants. Stir together.
- Add wet ingredients to the bowl, again, leaving out the currants. Whisk vigorously (the recipe actually says this) to combine, about 30 seconds.
- Fold in the currants.
- Fill the muffin cups 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow muffins to cool slightly before adding the icing.
