Perhaps it’s finally true…Spring has sprung, and the weather might finally be in alignment with the calendar. It’s warming up the next few days, just in time for Easter.
We’re just a few days away from the holiday, but we’ve got everything you need for your Easter celebration. Coffee cakes for Sunday morning, dinner rolls for the holiday meal, tasty, colorful Easter cookies or a Basketweave cake – our cases are full and we’re ready to help 
you celebrate.
Hot Cross Buns
We’ve had them all season long, but this Friday, Good Friday, is a day when we serve many Hot Cross Buns. This spiced sweet roll is made with raisins and marked with a dough or icing cross on the top. They are eaten throughout the season of Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter) but many are consumed this week, especially on Good Friday. These hot cross buns have been made for centuries, so given their long history it only seems natural that superstitions have grown around them. According to the website Smithsonian.com, hot cross buns can help cement friendships – those who share one will have a strong bond for a year. Or, if you hang a hot cross bun in your kitchen, it’ll stay fresh for a whole year.
Easter Activities
If your family is like mine, they are probably looking forward to the tradition of dying Easter eggs. With the high cost of eggs, we may not be dying as many, but you’ve got to keep some traditions going, and this is one of them. Plus, our kids enjoy coming up with fun color combinations and designs on their eggs. As they get older, the designs and colors get more intricate. It’s fun to watch.
If you’d like to add another Easter activity to the season or perhaps try something different this year, get creative decorating cupcakes! Try these Easter basket cupcakes. They’re pretty easy to make, and you’ll have a pretty, tasty treat at the end.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Your choice of cupcake (chocolate, vanilla, confetti – any flavor works!)
- Frosting (you can do just white or pick a color)
- Shredded coconut (we like to dye it green, so it looks like grass!)
- Easter toppings: jellybeans, M&Ms, Peeps
- Sour punch straws or licorice
After you’ve made your cupcakes and let them cool, the fun really starts. Frost your cupcakes and then top with the shredded coconut. We like to dye it green to look like grass. Then add jellybeans or pastel M&Ms to look like eggs hiding in the grass. You could also top the cupcakes with Chick or Bunny Peeps for another festive design. If you have sour candy straws or licorice, you can curve those over the top of the design to make the basket handle. The best part about this is it’s really easy for your whole family. Just put out the supplies and let everyone decorate his or her cupcake however they’d like for a fun variety.
As with any holiday or special event, we’re here to help you celebrate life deliciously. From all of us here at Ashley’s, we’re wishing you and yours a very Hoppy Easter!