Hot Cross Buns

By Cdreamgirl

Ingredients

• Buns
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Canola Oil
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup (additional) Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• Spices: Cardamom, Nutmeg, Allspice (optional)
• 1/2 cup Raisins
• GLAZE
• 1 whole Egg White
• Splash Of Milk
• Icing
• 1 whole Egg White
• Powdered Sugar
• Splash Of Milk

Preparation

Step 1

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Either way, Hot Cross Buns are a fun, meaningful Easter tradition. My mom used to make them, and now I do too.

Start by scalding milk, oil, and sugar. In my world, scald means to heat it almost to the point of boiling, but turn off the heat before it boils. Then walk away and let it cool for at least 30 minutes or so. Ultimately, you want it to be very warm, but not hot to the touch at all.

Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the warm milk mixture.

Stir it together with a large spoon (it’ll be sticky and thick.)

When it’s all combined…

After this addition…

Until it’s all combined.

Or…you can just make some hot cross buns! Time’s a wastin’!

In a bowl, mix together some sugar and cinnamon. You can also throw in other spices: cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, etc.

Sprinkle a teaspoon or so of the sugar mixture…

Place them on a lightly buttered (or sprayed) cookie sheet, then—IMPORTANT, BABY—cover them with a clean tea towel and allow them to rise in a warm place for a good hour. My kitchen is quite drafty, so what I do is heat up my griddle, turn it off, then place a couple of towels on top of it. Then I place the tea towel-covered cookie sheet on top of the tea towels.

When the rolls have risen, mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk and whisk it together with a fork.

Lightly brush the mixture all over the surface of the dough.

Make any wisecracks about the condition of my brush and I’ll deck ya.

Now just pop the rolls into a preheated 400 degree oven, on a rack just about the midpoint in the oven. The rolls will get more brown this way.

Allow the rolls to cool completely on a cooling rack while you make the icing.

Now, throw an egg white into a mixing bowl.

With the mixer on low, gradually add in enough powdered sugar to achieve a very thick, smooth, white icing. Splash in a little milk here and there to help the consistency.

This is kind of a mess, as the powdered sugar sometimes has a tendency to adhere to the sides of the bowl. Don’t be afraid to turn off the mixer and scrape the bowl a few times. The milk helps too.

Just be sure to keep adding powdered sugar until the mixture is thick, and bump up the speed on the mixer toward the end so the icing will be nice and smooth and glossy.

IMPORTANT: Make sure the rolls are completely cooled. No warmth at all, or the icing will spread and melt.

(additional) Flour

Combine 2 cups milk, canola oil, and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan. Stir and heat until very warm but not boiling. Turn off the heat and allow to cool until mixture is still warm, but not hot--about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Add 4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover with a towel and set aside for 1 hour.

Add 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and whatever other spices you want to use.

Lightly flour surface. Press to slightly flatten dough. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Sprinkle on about a third of the raisins. Then fold the dough over on itself and flatten again so the dough is "plain" again. Repeat the sugar/raisin process, then fold the dough again. Repeat a third time until all the raisins are used. (You won't use all the sugar/cinnamon mixture.)

Pinch off ping pong or golf ball-size bunches of dough. With floured hands, quickly roll it into a ball, then turn the edges under themselves slightly. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes...an hour-plus is better.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 degrees

Mix 1 egg white with a splash of milk. Brush onto each roll.

Mix 1 egg white with enough powdered sugar for icing to be very thick. Splash in milk as needed for consistency.

Add icing to a small Ziploc bag and snip the corner. Make icing crosses on each roll, making sure they're completely cooled first.

I used to make these with my girls and I like your method. Too bad I can’t make them this year but I am making 8 loaves of Easter bread on Saturday.

Im going to have to make these!! WOW!

We make similar buns like that in Germany. You can buy them all year. They are very yummy. Yours look very delicious and I will give them a try. Thanks for the recipe.

My mom died one year ago tomorrow (April 2) and she loved hot cross buns. I may make some in her honor!

Oooh! I’m excited to see you post this. We’re doing an Easter unit study this week and they are in our plans to make! We were going to make them tomorrow but maybe we’ll do it today so we can deliver them on Good Friday! Thanks Ree!

Thank you Ree!!! My sister asked me to make them when I visit for Easter and I have been searching the web for a good recipe. I should have known you’d post just what I needed in the nick of time!

OK, here’s the perfect Easter-Passover recipe story. My family is Christian; I converted to Judiasm while I was in college. IF Easter and Passover didn’t collide (calendar conflicts), my mother would make hot cross buns, but would put a Star of David on mine. My brother, who was still small, would be angry because the buns with stars had more frosting than the buns with crosses.

Mmmmmm…thank you! I want to make these now!

These look so good! All the hot cross buns I have ever found in bakeries have contained candied fruit (as in fruitcake), in addition to the raisins. And I hate that candied fruit! I’m so glad your recipe includes only raisins. It affirms my strongly-held belief that there is no reason hot cross buns MUST contain that nasty candied fruit! I will be making them, but probably not for Easter, as I have too many other things on my agenda right now. Thanks for posting this yummy recipe!

Came back to add – THANK YOU for making yeast breads look easy. Things with yeast have always intimidated the heck out of me, but after success with your cinnamon rolls (with lots of credit to your awesome directions & photography), I know I can make these, too. You rock!

I have to say that you have made it easy for me to learn how to make yeast things. It is something I wanted to learn because my Gma was excellent at yeast things. Thanks!

The light keeps the oven warm, but not so warm that the dough begins to bake, which is what happens if you put it on the “warm” setting. AND the dough is in a safe place where nobody will mess with it!

Happy Easter to one and all, and thanks, Ree, for another great recipe that I can make with my son!

I’ve never made these, but your recipe and pics make me want to give it a try! Very nice.

OMG…Ree…I had to do 250 hot cross buns for church on Palm Sunday this last week. I didn’t like any of the recipes I was finding, so I figured…hm…everyone loves Ree’s cinnamon rolls….The dough is failproof…so…I used your cinnamon roll dough (which is what you did, it looks like) and I added cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and golden raisins…Then, I frosted them with cream cheese buttercream frosting….Hee ! Hee! Hot cross buns….Voila!!! THEY GOT RAVES, GIRL!!!

Except for the egg white in the frosting. I eat raw cookie dough, but I think I could be just happy with adding a little butter/powdered sugar w/ milk to get the right consistency. I can’t imagine how quickly that frosting would spoil if left out on the counter!

I am so in love with this recipe, it’s almost frightening. I just found my first real hot cross buns in a bakery a few weeks ago. Up until that moment, they had only been the stuff of music legend to me – I’d never seen one. I’d only ever played “Hot Cross Buns” on my recorder in elementary school. Now, though, I can make them at home! I am doing a happy dance. Happy, happy dance.

I like your version Ree. My great aunt used to make hot cross buns but used dried fruit instead of raisins. Kids do not love dried fruit. I will start a new tradition this year.

If it’s the glossy-effect you’re seeking in the frosting, you can also achieve it by adding a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to the confectioners’ sugar and milk mixture (instead of using egg whites). Happy Easter, PW! Come back to KC!!

My mom always makes hot cross buns for Easter. Thanks for the nice memory.

I make these every Good Friday. While I just use cream and icing sugar for the frosting I don’t think adding an egg white is a problem. The icing has so much sugar in it should keep bacteria from growing in it. Also egg white frostings tend to dry out very quickly which leaves very little moisture for the bacteria to grow. Alternately you could use pasteurized egg whites.

Oh baby, ya’ll make hot~crossed buns just like this Ozarks farm chick does. Mmmmmmm, I can almost smell them bakin’!

I love ya, but the word “yeasty” makes me gag.

I have never had a hot cross bun before – this post makes me want to try one… as soon as possible.

It’s amazing how you make even the most complicated recipes seem doable!

Oh, I think this recipe looks wonderful and I had never heard this tradition either. This is our first Easter with our new baby boy, so I was hoping to start adopting some fun new family traditions. One question since I am only an average yeast user, after I tear them off to make the buns and put them on the cookie sheet could I refrigerate overnight? I know I won’t have time to do all of this in the morning, so it would be great to just put the glaze on and pop them in the oven in the morning.

ooooh now do i make these or your sticky buns????????

Ahh, how lovely, I was going to make your cinnamon rolls, but I’m going to make these instead.

I may have to make those for my husband’s office! YUM!

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