I had quite a crazed weekend this past one. In fact it was so hectic that I felt that I needed a weekend to get over my weekend. Do you ever have those times when you collapse into bed exhausted at the end of a Sunday night at 9pm? And whilst I love social engagements, all I wanted to do was get into the kitchen and bake these little buns and socialising like a mad woman meant that these were going to be a Monday afternoon project once the weekend was over.
And on the Monday morning I awoke feeling slightly run down or more accurately, run over. My legs ached from wearing heels all weekend – I used to be able to run miles in the things! I also awoke very parched in my throat. I had in fact dreamt of drinking a tall glass of water just before I woke-and that glass of water was delivered, randomly, by Don Draper from Mad Men. Make of that dream what you will. I wondered how on earth people handled other, even more ferociously busy weekends. We hadn’t gone to bed at 3am like I had done so in the past and there wasn’t that much alcohol involved for me. And when the phone rang, I groaned and it was hard for me to answer “Good morning” when all I felt like saying was “Good moaning”.
Good Moaning to you piggy…
Once I got into the kitchen, things got better. I made myself something delicious for brunch and set about to work on these buns. Before I knew it my fingers were folding the buns over and I became a more fluid moving individual and I felt human rather than shadow. Ahh the mysterious power of baking…
As soon as I saw these piggy buns on CG’s lovely Cooking Gallery site I wanted to make them. She filled them with pork mince which sounds delicious (and don’t tell Mr NQN or he’ll be requesting them) but I just wanted to do a simple, sweet filling. They were surpringly easy, with simple details to them and very satisfying once made as they are soft and fluffy and snack sized. The part I liked the best was that each pig seemed to look slightly different with different expressions, much like a family of pigs would I suppose!
So tell me Dear Reader, do your weekends ever exhaust you and do you need a weekend to recover from your weekend?
Lil’ Piggy Buns
Makes 20 small buns or 14 large buns
Dough:
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons bread improver*
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons instant dried yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons oil
Filling and decorating:
- 2-3 cups of chopped chocolate, red bean paste (from Asian supermarkets), jam or whatever you would like to fill these sweet buns with.
- 1 black decorating pen or black icing pen with a fine tip
- Patty pans to serve them in
*Buyer’s tip: bread improver can be found in the baking and flour section of the supermarket
When dough is first mixed
Cover with cling wrap and place in a bowl of warm-hot water
1. Place the dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer and mix with a spatula to combine. In a jug whisk the warm water and the oil. Set the mixer with the dough hook and on the slowest speed, add the water and oil mix and knead for about 5 minutes using an electric mixer or about 8 minutes if done by hand. Oil the bowl lightly as well as the top of the buns. If you don’t have a warm place in your kitchen, cover the bowl with cling wrap and place the base of the bowl in another bowl of warm water for about an hour to rise. Punch it down (I love this part).
It’s alive!
2. Get your patty pans ready to place the buns on. If you are making small buns, divide dough into 24 pieces, if large 16 pieces. They will expand and truth be told, I think mine were a bit large. Reserve the dough for 2-4 of the buns to colour pink for the ears and snout. Roll one piece of the white dough into a ball and then roll it out into a circle with a small rolling pin. You want to make the edges slightly thinner than the centre so once I rolled it out into a circle, I rolled the edges out even more. Keep the dough covered while you are making these so that it doesn’t dry out.
Rolled out a bit flatter around the edge with a raised centre
3. Place a spoonful of the filling in the centre and pinch the edges together. Place on the patty and continue shaping and filling the rest of the dough. The dough will expand slightly again.
Place filling in the centre above the slightly thicker circle of dough
Pinch the edges
4. Take a tiny amount of pink food colouring and mix it in the dough. Roll out about a third of it on a lightly flour dusted surface and cut into triangles for the pigs ears. Shape the rest into a snout shape and attach both with a little water onto the buns and poke two holes in the snout. If anything I thought of a shape and holes in a piece of Nutri Grain cereal for the snout-I hope you know what I mean and don’t sound insane! But then again I just made buns in the shape of pig’s faces so it’s all relative…
Pig’s ears
Ears and snouts!
5. You can steam these for 20 minutes or you can do it the fast and furious way and microwave 2 or 3 of them at a time for 1 minute on high. I tried both and the only issue with microwaving is ensuring that you don’t overcook them and make them go hard and the filling burst out. Eat them while they are fresh and warm.
No actual pigs were harmed in the making of these, only their caricatures.
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98 Comments | Add your own
Heheh these are so cute Lorraine! I love it how you made them all individuals!
And yes, thanks to my very active nature my weekends tend to be anything but relaxing!
They are adorable, I love their little noses.
OMG so cute! I especially love the sleeping one.
How adorable! They definitely put a smile on my face. I know exactly how you felt yesterday at 9pm, that was when I got a chance to sit down as well, and boy was I tired. But I wasn’t tired due to socializing, only because I got carried away in the kitchen cooking and baking all day. But it was a good day!
Am glad that baking these little pigs made perk up. But no wonder, they’re so cute!
Very cute and I prefer your sweet filling. I’m no vegetarian but it wouldn’t feel right to eat such cute little piggies knowing that you were really eating piggies.
THESE are adorable! I’m e-mailing it to my friend Libby–I know she’ll want them for her birthday.
These are too cute!
And I know what you mean about crazy weekends (and weeks!) It seems that mine are going to be crazy until Christmas!
Such darling piggies, Lorraine!
Yes, my weekend exhausted me too. So gloriously fun with dear friends and amazing food in Vancouver, Canada, but heavens, I’m so tired. 
OMG, these are adorable!!! I love the surprises I find on your site. Don Draper is sooooooo handsome, but his bed hopping infidelity doesn’t do it for me. I often need a weekend to recover from my weekend, mainly because I fancy myself as some kind of superwoman who can do everything – and failing miserably most of the time.
Yes thats why I think 3 day weekends should become mandatory.
Oh, these are just adorable. I love all the different faces.
Awww these are so adorable, Lorraine!
Hope you’re recovering from the weekend. How I admire your prowess in heels. I consider 4 hours every 3rd or 4th Saturday night a great achievment.
SSG xxx
Things always seem to get better in the kitchen, don’t they Lorraine?
These are the cutest little pigs I’ve ever seen, I especially love the little sleeping piggy!
How cute! My dsughter would love these. What’s a weekend?
So cute!!
i don’t think weekends exhaust me, i just wish they were longer! they go by too quickly. how cute are your piggy buns! i love them!
I know how you feel – we flew to Byron Bay for a party on Saturday! You would think that would be fun – but was exhausted at the end of it. I too retired to the kitchen to recuperate yesterday! Brown Bread Ice Cream and Gnocchi with Meatballs!!
They are divine little piggies – they have to be on this weekend’s agenda, but I think I’ll use a savoury filling. I’m with Mr NQN there.
I’m in constant need of a weekend to get over my weekend! And much the same as you my weekends aren’t nearly as adventurous as they used to be! I completely understand therapeutic baking. It’s like everything falls back into alignment in the kitchen.
Cutest bun ever, I’m loving how easy this sounds. Looking forward to making some of these soon, thanks for sharing.
Weekends do become rather hectic sometimes and it’s best to take it easy on Monday =)
Aww their little piggy faces are adorable. Just checking the quantity of yeast – 2 tablespoons?
snap! I have piggy buns on my website atm too. Although mine are from Chef’s Gallery and aren’t handmade like yours
Very cute Lorraine & yes, I sometimes feel after a big weekend (given that I work weekends & its our busiest time) that my first waking thought on my day off is WHY Anna do you do this to yourself. Ick
They are just so cute and sound delicious. Sadly I often need a weekend to get over my weekend. I do believe in a 5 day weekend and 2 day working week, I shall keep dreaming
Oooh these look yummy. I might try them with the kids later, as they’re both home sick. And yes, I often feel like a weekend after a weekend. I used to be able to run in high heels too, now my feet ache after just a few hours!
These are just absolutely darling, Lorraine!! I totally know what you mean by a moaning Monday morning! Soy and I usually have packed socialising weekends (another one coming up) that on Sunday and Monday I want to be in bed by 8pm! Looove the cute buns.
Sooooooo Cute
I’m glad you chose a sweet filling over minced pork, because these piggy buns are sweeeet as. Adorable!
I want one.
I love the sleepy pig, reflecting your state of being! We can buy pork-filled buns like this at our local supermarket – bizarrely, they sometimes have panda and frog versions, too (presumably not filled with panda or frog meat)! xxx
Love these Lorraine! Absolutely the cutest! I think I’d like them filled with BBQ pork though… just to be more authentic-ly piggy
These are absolutely adorable!! Oink Oink!
So cute! I’d feel like a little piggy myself eating these
I’m with Mr NQN, now I want pork buns for lunch! And these would be perfect piggy pork buns..
ohhh so cute!!
I know those weekends well… they make a Monday morning at work even harder!
Your piggies are adorable! I’m sure they taste great too!
Oh so cute!
These days my weekends are generally quite restful… I must be getting old!
Lorraine, these buns are SO cute…lovely little piglets
And I sure need a weekend for the weekend activities.
So cute! I actually love the steamed pork buns, but those sesame balls with red bean paste sucker me in every time too, so I reckon I’d like these ones just as well!
weekends are too hectic – but i’m just OLD now. . . I love it when we have a completely free weekend, but it doesn’t seem to happen much.
I bet yours taste better than the ones at Chefs Gallery!
Lorraine, I have seen these before at a fellow blogger’s post – though she made this a savoury bun -like the chinese pork bun. Very cute.
Every time I get in a bad mood, I must come back here. These piggies made a bad day good.
Lorraine, they are sooooo cute!!!! I love the one that’s fallen asleep!
I usually feel exhausted at about 6pm on Sunday after a huge day at church (by huge, I mean I have to be there by 8am, if I’m singing – which means leaving home at 7:15am at the latest – and usually leaving the city between 5-6pm…) – so I know the feeling you’re writing about, except mine comes from one day, not a whole weekend.
So cute! These little pigs would make anyone smile
These are TOO CUTE!!!
I usually need about a week to recover from my week-ends. That’s what work is for.
As for those little piggies.. are they up for adoption? Cuz i would gladly take them under my wing (no i promise i won’t bite! 0:)
So sweet, I would have had trouble eating them I think! I also would have considered postponing after an exhausting weekend but happy to hear you actually perked up from making these!
HOW can one NOT smile with these, TRUE!
NOW I want to make them and read the Three Little Pigs too!
Now this one is too small, this one is not right, but THIS one IS an “ABSOLUTE DELIGHT!” lol
Thanks! Hope you feel more rested soon! WHOO HOO!
Hi Lorraine, they are so adorable! did u end up eating them at all?
Ahhh! The sleeping one!! Too cute! (And mmm, red bean paste…)
I simply love these little piggies, they are totally cute and yes the different expression make them even cuter…oh goodness some weekends are just dreaful and then the week starts and it gets out of control!!
sweetlife
Those little buns look so sweet!
Running around after a clutch of kids all weekend – and trying to fit in a social life as well – is enough to exhaust anyone!
Were you inspired by Chef’s Gallery? They have black sesame piggy buns there.
I must be in the small minority of your readers that doesn’t like steamed pork buns, savoury or sweet. However, they do look very cute and at first sight I thought they were Lil’ Piggy cupcakes which I would have gleefully devoured
But these have to be the cutest piggy buns! You’d have to be pretty darned heartless (or just plain hungry) to eat one.
These look adorable! I love the little pig sniffing out his edible companions!
Anyway I know exactly what you mean about the weekends. Most weeks, I’m just so knackered out from work on the weekdays that I’m more than happy to spend some time at home with the boyfriend just tinkering about the kitchen and watching a DVD. How the weekends go by so fast especially compared to the weekdays is still something that baffles me though
So,so cute! I have a secret love for little piggies and piggies with wings.
I only feel wasted after the weekend, when I have wasted the weekend cooking for hundreds of other people having a good time!
these are too cute! similar to what I see in Asian bakeries.
Aaawwww, they are so cute! What great buns.
Cheers,
Rosa
Yum, piglets! I think red bean would be perfect in these buns, as if their appearance weren’t tempting enough! Glad you find baking such good therapy – I rely on shopping, but it’s sooo expensive
What a coincidink, Lorraine!! I was just enjoying a scrumptious lunch today at Chef’s Gallery, eyeing with longing my neighbour’s choice of “Little Piggy” Sesame buns! Now I can make them! Brilliant!
p.s. And, also, speaking of Chef’s Gallery, on behalf of all food lovers on the interwebs, can i make a request that you do a review of Chef’s Gallery (Regent Place, Bathurst Street – opposite St. Andrew’s Cathedral, City)? ..that’s if you haven’t already done it
Many thanks!
That is exactly what I was thinking: how each pig had an individual, unique expression. I am partial to the one on the bottom right. He’s a cutie!
These are completely adorable, so sweet!
*kisses* HH
What a cute little twist on the pork bun. I never used tinfoil much, but now I really look forwaed to it because I find it really tends to ground me and calm me down after a long hard day.
OMG they are so cute!!
Too cute! Like the ones at Chef’s Gallery!
Cute! I like the one with the fat nose!
Oh wow. This is way too cute. You must be so chuffed with yourself on mkaing such gorgeous little piggie puffs. I really would love to eat one of them. As for needing a weekend to recover from another weekend…. Yes i think i am having one of those moments today. Just relaxing today, no work, but lots of blogging!
These are way too adorable to sink my teeth into.
Lorraine, you did a wonderful job at these piggy buns…what patience you have ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
So funny! Definitely making these for my class for my birthday if I have the time to make 30!
Lovely piggy buns – they look so very perfect! I’ve recently discovered the Chef’s Gallery site (via some other bloggers, in fact!) and was plotting a post about the excitement of finally finding piggy buns in Australia (keep getting beaten to it, though… perhaps I should give the recipe a go and try making my own. Or panda buns? Now there’s a thought).
Such a fun idea. Making these would definitely wake you up and make you smile. My vacations are like that – I need a vacation to recover from my vacations. xoxo Mum
How cute! I wish I had time to make these piggy buns. I know what you mean by weekend to get over weekend. I need a year off to get over the year! hehehe
Too cute for words!
Too adorable for words… I can imagine them being the life of the party. As for tired after weekends… these days, with work eating up so much time, we try to stuff all our leisure time into 2 tiny days… making it no leisure at all…and heels all weekend? YOu are a brave woman!
Hey, Lorraine, I am so happy that you made the piggy buns too! They look adorable:)!
Are you kidding me? I ALWAYS need a weekend to recover from my weekend and I dont even do anything on my weekends!! hehhee.. SUPER CUTE piggies I love them!
these look so cute! I love pigs, and for quite a while I havent been able to eat them. Arent those sweet?
Found your blog and love it!
Awesome cupcakes, the only thing that is missing is some roasted pig ears and corn on the cob and we have ourselves a full blown meal of epic proportions.
I can’t think of anything i would want to inhale more than these little piggies! Beautiful work of art they are!
these r too cute hehe
Haha, super super cute little piggies, they’re great! I have to wonder what they’d be like filled with bacon jam!!!
I definitely have weekends that end up being more tiring than the working week, but I often work weekends too which doesn’t help. Bring on Christmas?
Ahhh these are too cute( even though I usually hate all things pig related)
These are so adorable!
These are beyond cute! And “bread improver” is a new one on me. I wonder if it’s an “only in Australia” thing, as I’ve never heard of it in the States.
And NQN, I feel your pain. I just came back from vacation, and now I feel like I need ANOTHER vacation!
Adorable! I am sending this recipe to my piggy loving Dad!
These are adorable!!! If I make them black and white they’ll look just like my dog, Marty! Yay! And the older we get, the more relaxing we make our weekends!
Oooh Lorraine, these are so cute I squeeled with delight! I absolutely love sweet Chinese pork or red bean buns, but have never tried them myself. Do you know if it’s easy enough to make the dough without an electric mixer?
And I know what you mean – the past week has been so hectic I haven’t even had a single moment to read all your posts that arrived in my inbox! I have London Fashion Week starting this Friday which will be fun, but I’m going to need half a week just to get over the looong days!
Briony xx
pig for dessert–that’s a new one (except for the whole bacon-chocolate craze)!
these are adorable, lorraine–i’ll take the sleeper off your hands!
These are too cute!
Oh Lorraine, these are fantastic! My daughter’s name is Olivia and she loves Olivia the pig – I think I may use this recipe for her 2nd birthday!!
And yes, I tend to need another weekend after my weekends. Before kids I used to so busy and always on the go and now with kids it’s the same, if not a bit worse! So much to do, so little time. but always worth it!!
Your little piggy’s buns look lovely & funny too!
hahahahaha,…Beautiful buns,…truly artistic too!
oh very cute – I have never steamed buns before and would not have thought they would hold together so well
What the?! I just re-read my comment and I sound like some whacked-out space cadet! I think what I was supposed to say was, I never used to cook much, but now I find it relaxing (that’ll teach me to not to check what I’m writing on the iphone before sending it)
My son would like these. I have a Miele steam oven on trial at the moment and need some steamable recipes!
Oh my goodness, these are SO CUTE. You’re always good at cute, but this is ridiculous!!
STOP STOP STOP!!! It is 2 teaspoons of yeast not tablespoons. I just made these according to the above recipe and they were awful – waaay too much yeast. I am still inspired though to try again – tomorrow. Thanks Lorraine for such a wonderful insiring website.
Just made these! Filled the piggy buns with fried pork mince and steamed them. They were so fun to make and eat! Thanks so much!
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