Belizean Powder Buns

So it dawned on me that I forgot to cook this week. It’s weird. I’m usually so planned about everything. Make food, photo it, post it, eat it. Somewhere between the Super Bowl and the Blizzard and all that jazz, I came home last night to no prepared food. Whoops. Eggs it was, but that just won’t do for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Though, they are incredibly edible, aren’t they? Therefore, needing a quick breakfast for today, I threw Flour’s Belizean Powder Buns in the oven, filling my apartment with an orange cinnamon coconut aroma perfect for this cold, snowy day (Will it stop? No one knows…) where luckily, I get to work from home. I just couldn’t wait to tell you about it, so it’s a working lunch.

I wanted to make these powder buns because JSF regularly brings them into work for breakfast. Never being able to mind my own business, I like to snoop at other people’s food in the break room, no doubt resulting in some degree of food envy on my part. Since she seemed to like them SO much, I needed to see what was so great about these wonky shaped rolls.

A lot, actually.  I’m not sure how to describe them. Not buttery like scones. Not soft like rolls. Not crispy like…crispy things. Sort of…chewy? I don’t know. A beast of their own.  

I snazzed mine up with some orange olive oil (love that stuff), but if you don’t have that, then I’d say the regular would no doubt be just as good, with the cinnamon and the coconut and the vanilla. Mmm. I ate mine with my leftover orange curd and Mmm and Mmm (extra emphasis).  Also, the whole thing literally took 30 minutes, less if you’re a superfast mixer, or have the ingredients ready to go.

This comes from JSF’s recipe book called, “Silly Bug and Bittle Recipes,” whatever that means. It’s got some interesting and very unique recipes in it, some that I wasn’t about to tackle. For example, an excerpt from the recipe for Turtle Stew:

Smack the turtle in the back of the head to kill it.

Now, I’m not naïve enough to believe that all my food is humanely harvested, no matter how I try to buy products labeled as such, but I’m not about to go smacking turtles.  I think mom cried a little when I told her about this.

Another recipe for tiger paw soup literally uses a TIGER PAW. Much unlike my Lion’s Head Soup that does not in fact, contain a lion’s head.

Those are tangents, but related to Belizean food nonetheless. Still, powder buns. Make them. If you don’t like coconut, add raisins. If you don’t have orange oil, use coconut or even butter. If you don’t have evaporated milk, use buttermilk. Really, this is the easiest.  Reheat with a zap in the microwave, or a quick run through the toaster oven.

Belizean Powder Buns

February 4, 2015

Servings: 12

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 25 min

Total: 35 min

Difficulty: Easy

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Belizean powder buns are a hearty breakfast roll - that has been sweetened up with coconut and flavored oils.

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• Pinch of salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 TB orange olive oil (or melted coconut oil, or cold butter)
• 7 ounces evaporated milk
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup grated coconut

Directions

• Step 1 Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Step 2 In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
• Step 3 If using butter, add to the dry ingredients and rub with your fingers until well mixed. If using one of the oils, add that to a liquid measure, along with the milk and vanilla. Add all of that to the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.
• Step 4 Drop by spoonfuls on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Step 5 Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.