Hot Cross Buns

Celebrate Easter weekend with these delicious Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. Laden with raisins and spices and piped with frosting crosses, these are a great breakfast or afternoon treat.

Follow up your holiday weekend sweets with a batch of Easter Bunny Cinnamon Rolls and Easter Pretzels for fun and a Carrot Cake for dessert.

this …

While I’ve been to London before, and I’ve got my tickets to England booked for the spring, I’ve never eaten an authentic hot cross bun. Or a scone. Or a Yorkshire pudding. But, I plan to remedy all that soon.

What I’ve lacked in actual, authentic experience, I’ve made up for in my love of British Literature. I’ve devoured books by J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, P.G. Wodehouse, J.K. Rowling, and a host of other Brits with initials for first names. Maybe I should start going by the pen name, J.G. Fisher. That sounds so fancy, don’t it?

So, while I’ve not had a “real” hot cross bun, I’ve read about them. That should count for something. And since I love a good mashup of cultures, I set out to create a hot cross bun that reflected my home state of California. Perhaps someone will say that this recipe is too American, “too many flavors mixed up together.” Perhaps….

But, they’re still good. I figured since I didn’t know what a true hot cross bun tasted like, I could embellish it with two truly California ingredients: lemon and raisins, and pretend that this roll knows it’s not a true hot cross bun.

There is a big difference between raisins, sultanas, California raisins, and currants, but California raisins won out, of course, because they are oh-so Californian. And way easier to find where I live.

Tradition says that hot cross buns are best enjoyed on Good Friday. There’s even a nursery rhyme to go along with the buns:

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons
One ha’ penny,
Two ha’ penny,
Hot Cross Buns!^[1]

So you can sing the song while you bake these, and pretend that you know what you’re doing. It’s okay. I won’t tell on ya.

These are a great snack for while you prep Easter Dinner.

How to make this good and cheap:

Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:

• Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of flour, raisins, and butter can help keep the price down.
• Buying in bulk – It’s rare that I would buy a small package of raisins. I usually buy bulk packs wherever I go. I also have gotten into the habit of buying cases of flour from Bob’s Red Mill. 

How I make this recipe easy:

One of the great things about scones is that you can freeze them before or after baking. If you freeze them prior to baking, you don’t thaw them, just slide the frozen scones into the hot oven and add a few minutes to the baking time. If you bake them first and then cool and freeze, you can very easily thaw them overnight on the counter so they’re ready when you are.

This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.

Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:

• bread machine or stand mixer –  These machines make dough mixing SO much easier!
• bench knife – I love this tool for easily cutting dough into pieces.
• parchment paper – I hate washing pans. Parchment paper makes clean up a breeze.
• sheet pans – I LOVE my set of steel sheet pans. They make such a difference in baking.

Hot Cross Buns with California Raisins

Celebrate Easter weekend with these delicious Hot Cross Buns. They’ve got all the bright flavors of California, lemon and two colors of raisins.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American, English

Prep Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Calories: 245kcal

Author: Jessica Fisher

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk warmed
• ½ cup butter melted
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 egg beaten
• 3 cup bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 lemon , zested
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoon raisins
• 2 tablespoon golden raisins
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

To make the dough in a stand mixer:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, butter, granulated sugar, and yeast. Allow this mixture to sit for five minutes while the yeast proofs. It will start to foam and bubble.
• Add in the eggs, flours, the lemon zest from ONE lemon, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and raisins. Stir with the dough hook until the dough comes together.
• Increase the speed to knead and knead the dough until a dough ball forms around the hook. The dough will still be sticky.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

To make the dough by hand:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, butter, granulated sugar, and yeast. Allow this mixture to sit for five minutes while the yeast proofs. It will start to foam and bubble.
• Add in the eggs, flours, the lemon zest from ONE lemon, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and raisins. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

To make the dough in a bread machine:

• Combine all dough ingredients in the pan of your bread machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Set on the dough cycle and start the machine.

To form the buns:

• When the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal parts.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Form each dough piece into a tight round and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Cover loosely with a tea towel and allow to rise for 60 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a cross into the top of each roll and bake the rolls for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool the rolls on a wire rack.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar and enough lemon juice to make a thick icing. Stir in the zest from the remaining lemon. Spoon or pipe the icing into the crosses of each cooled bun. Allow the icing to set and serve.

Notes

Store baked rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Nutritional values are approximate and based on 1 bun.

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 232IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

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