Maybe it’s the bright color. Maybe it’s the fresh, vibrant taste. Whatever the reason, Easter has become inextricably linked to lemon (and chocolate, of course). So we decided to do a refresh of the conventional breakfast cinnamon bun, infusing it with lemony goodness three different ways.
We start by replacing the cinnamon sugar with sugar spiked with lemon zest. Then we fill the buns with purchased lemon curd (a decadent, tangy treat that also is good simply spread onto toast). Finally, we drizzle our finished buns with icing made from lemon juice and powdered sugar.
The result is vibrantly lemony, but not mouth puckering. And to keep things fast and easy, we use purchased frozen bread dough as the base for the buns. All you need to do is thaw the dough, roll it out, fill it, then roll it back up before slicing and baking. These buns are the perfect way to start Easter — or any spring — morning.
You’ll find loaves of frozen bread dough in the grocer’s freezer section. Jars of lemon curd are alongside the jams and jellies.
STICKY LEMONY BREAKFAST BUNS
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (30 minutes active)
Makes 15 servings
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Two 1-pound loaves frozen white bread dough, thawed and allowed to come to room temperature
1/2 cup lemon curd
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Nutrition information per serving: 250 calories; 50 calories from fat (20 percent of total calories); 6 g fat (1.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 25 mg cholesterol; 44 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 17 g sugar; 7 g protein; 370 mg sodium.
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