You’ll love these buns – sweet, soft and full of earthy spiciness from cinnamon, allspice, and raisins. Made with a donut cutter, once risen and baked, their centers make the perfect nesting spot for colorful jelly beans.
Easter Nests are some of my favorite things to make in the Spring around Easter time. The recipe for these buns comes from the April 1943 Westinghouse Health-for-Victory Meal Planning Guide. I think they are just the embodiment of Spring, don’t you?
Why you will love this recipe:
They are simple and come together pretty fast. The only thing you have to wait for is the rising time.
These make such a fun baking project to do with kids! They’ll have lots of fun decorating their own Easter Nests with jelly beans. No need to stop at just three. Or four…
These are pretty much donuts in disguise without all the bother of frying. How can you not love that?
They are just darn stinking cute! And why stop with white frosting? You can lightly tint it with pink or blue or green food dye for some fun Springy pastel colors.
Tips for making these Easter Nests:
Use the more old-fashioned larger jelly beans. They fill up the donut hole nest more easily than the smaller ones.
Resist the urge to knead the dough when initially mixing up the ingredients. These are rolls and you want them to be extra soft, not chewy!
You can make a basic vanilla buttercream frosting for these, then just add extra milk to make it on the thinner side. We dipped the tops of the buns in the frosting, then spread the icing on to smooth it out.
A stand mixer is not recommended on this one to avoid over-mixing the dough.
Zante currants are great for this recipe because they’re a tinier, less intense form of raisin. I think they’re worth hunting down so you still have a bit of that raisin flavor, but it doesn’t take over like it would with regular raisins. I usually find them at my local health food store and have even found them at an Amish grocery. So, if you’d like to go the more local route, see if your local grocery or health food store will order them in for you.
First you mix 1 c. scalded milk with 1/4 c. shortening, 1/3 c. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Due to my son’s milk sensitivity, I used almond milk and then just heated it up in the microwave. The warm milk helps melt the fat. Let those things cool until the liquid, after being stirred is warm; it shouldn’t sting your skin.
While that’s cooling, soften a packet of yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp. yeast) in 2 Tbsp. lukewarm water with 1 tsp. sugar. Add this to the milk mixture. Then mix in a beaten egg, 1/2 c. raisins (I recommend the mini Zante currant raisins), 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. allspice. Stir in as much sifted 3 1/2 to 4 c. of all-purpose flour as can be stirred in.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Step 2: Make the Rolls
Knead the dough lightly to release any trapped air bubbles. Then using a rolling pin, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to a 1/2″ thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2″ doughnut cutter. Place on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Let them rise until fluffy and light and the holes have slightly decreased in size.
Bake in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes or until lightly golden on top. After cooling for 10 minutes, frost with a vanilla icing, and arrange 3 or 4 (or more!) jelly beans in the middle of each bun.
As an alternative to kneading the doughnut holes back into the dough to cut more rings, I like to bake and frost the doughnut holes to make little bunny cottontails!
The scent of these buns filling my kitchen is so heavenly! You’ll love making these buns, and I hope you have as much making them as my kids and I did!
These festive buns are sweet, soft and full of earthy spiciness from cinnamon, allspice, and raisins. Made with a donut cutter, once risen and baked, their centers make the perfect nesting spot for colorful jelly beans.
Ingredients
1 c. scalded milk
1/4 c. shortening
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 packet of yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp. yeast)
2 Tbsp. lukewarm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. raisins (or Zante currants if available)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
3 1/2 - 4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
Instructions
First you mix scalded milk with shortening, sugar, and salt. Let those things cool until the liquid, after being stirred, is warm; it shouldn't sting your skin.
While that's cooling, soften a packet of yeast in the lukewarm water with the 1 tsp. sugar. Add this to the milk mixture. Then mix in the beaten egg, raisins, cinnamon and allspice. Stir in as much of the sifted flour as can be stirred in.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Knead the dough lightly to release any trapped air bubbles. Then using a rolling pin, roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to a 1/2" thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2" doughnut cutter. Place on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Let them rise until fluffy and light and the holes have slightly decreased in size.
Bake in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes or until lightly golden on top. After cooling for 10 minutes, frost with a vanilla icing, and arrange 3 or 4 (or more!) jelly beans in the middle of each bun.
As an alternative to kneading the doughnut holes back into the dough to cut more rings, I like to bake and frost the doughnut holes to make little bunny cottontails!
