Delicious and dairy-free?

Q: Is it possible to make delicious foods that are also dairy-free?
A: You betcha!

Since we found out that Joseph had a cow's milk allergy/intolerance, I've changed to eating dairy-free. That has been hard for me as 1) I like cheese! And lots of other dairy products! and 2) I was used to using cheese, milk, sour cream, etc. in my cooking. Although I haven't been able to find alternatives that work for all of my favorites, I have been able to use alternative products in many of my favorite 'treat' recipes. This has helped me to feel less deprived as I'm avoiding dairy.

Every once in a while I plan to post the results and/or recipes for my dairy-free experimenting. Today we will discuss the hot cross buns I made for Easter!

Original recipe: Martha Stewart's best hot cross buns

My dairy-free version (substitutions are in bold italics):

Ashley's Delicious Dairy-free Hot Cross Buns

• 12 Tbsp Earth Balance soy-free, melted and cooled
• 1 cup So Delicious vanilla coconut milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 1/2 tsps instant yeast
• 1 Tbsp coarse salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 orange
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/3 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 4 Tbsp Earth Balance soy-free, melted
• 2 Tbsp wildflower honey

1. Butter a large bowl (with Earth Balance); set aside. Take second large bowl and mix together the sugar, salt, butter, zests, eggs, and yeast until smooth with wooden spoon. Place 1 cup coconut milk in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Heat until milk reaches 110 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour milk into other ingredients. Add flour, and mix until dough forms. Continue kneading, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, until smooth.
   
2. Add raisins; knead briefly by hand. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead briefly to evenly distribute raisins in dough. Shape into a ball. Place dough in ('buttered') prepared bowl. Turn to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour or so.
   
3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Knead briefly and roll dough into a log. Cut log in half and cut each half into 6-8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a tightly formed ball. Place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Cover baking sheets with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until buns are touching and doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
   
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Snip crosses into top of buns with kitchen shears. Transfer buns to oven and bake until golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
   
5. Meanwhile, melt butter in microwaveable bowl. Add honey and mix. Brush mixture over buns with pastry brush.
   

 Enjoy! My family had these and couldn't tell that there was no cow's milk or butter in them.