Easter is coming and for some reason that gets me thinking of Hot Cross Buns.Actually, the reason I think of them is that in my lessons at this time of year, I mention Hot Cross Buns to students. I have no recollection of eating them in Canada, though I'm sure my mom would have made them some years. My mother, Master Cook that she was must have made these buns more than once. Yet my memories of Easter stray more towards the Easter ham, and the (drool) fantastic sandwiches we'd eat for days after with the leftover ham. I think of the pickled beets mixed with horseradish that we'd eat with the ham - sweet, yet packing a kick! I think of the Paska and Babka that we'd eat with dinner and then use for those leftovers sandwiches. There are the chocolates, the family, the hint of summer coming...but I cannot remember any Hot Cross Buns, and I must have eaten them.A few years ago I made Hot Cross Buns for the first time and enjoyed them. I don't celebrate much of Easter here in Japan because I'm not very religious and it's difficult to get a nice ham or lamb for dinner (I'm into food in case you haven't noticed). Hot Cross Buns are an easy way to help celebrate Easter.At Christmas last year, I made Christmas cake. I had bought a package of mixed dried fruits and spices, ready to add to my Fruit Cake / Christmas Cake recipe. The package had more than enough fruit for my recipe and I've kept the leftover waiting to use it for some other recipe.I knew I'd be making some Hot Cross Buns, and rather than adding the usual fruits and spices, I decided to go the whole nine yards and add in the leftover fruit/spice mixture, which has all the fruits I need plus extras to my recipe for the buns. The buns baked up nice and fluffy, full of spice and sweetness, yet not overly sweet like cinnamon buns can be (though I do like ton indulge in them as well at times).Traditionally, Hot Cross Buns have the name-sake Cross of icing on them. I'm lazy because I don't want to be marking a cross into each bun, and then icing a cross over each bun. But, I'm also frugal. I've been saving leftover icing from cookies (Maple Bacon Flavoured Icing). With a few additions, it was ready to use for my buns.So, in the end I wound up with Buns that while not Hot, and not with a Cross, are nevertheless Buns, and tasty are they.