Hot Cross Buns

Good Friday is just around the corner. In the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and some parts of North America, serving Hot Cross Buns has become a tradition to mark the end of the Lenten Season.

What is a Hot Cross Bun? It is a spiced sweet bun marked with a cross on top. It has a long history and it was adopted by Christians as a special bread, usually served for breakfast or as a dessert eaten on Good Friday or the Easter holidays.

Hot Cross Buns are like a combination of dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls. They are soft, a little dense, and flavorful, thanks to the flavors from cinnamon and nutmeg. One good thing about it is that you can certainly play with the spices.

You can even use cardamom if you wish to. And to make the sweet dough even more delightful, each roll is finished with a deliciously sweet icing, which makes Hot Cross Buns a perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth during Easter.

Hot Cross Buns

---

• Author: Myles
• Total Time: 55 minutes + rising/chilling time
• Yield: 12 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

These hot cross buns that start from a sweet dough are soft and flavorful. They are baked until golden and then topped with deliciously sweet icing, making it an extra special Easter treat for anyone with a sweet tooth.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Buns:

1 can (12-oz) evaporated milk

1/2 c. butter (melted)

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tbsp. yeast

1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

5 c. all-purpose flour

Icing:

3/4 c. confectioners sugar

1 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. butter (melted)

1/3 tsp. almond extract

---

Instructions

1. Place the evaporated milk and melted butter in a large bowl and then add the sugar, yeast, and salt. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
2. Add the beaten egg, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and then slowly mix in flour, one cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed.
3. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes and then put it in a greased bowl. Turn the dough over so that the top is greased. Cover and put it in a warm place and let it rise, about 1 hour.
4. Turn out dough and knead air bubbles.
5. Divide dough and shape into 12 small rolls. Place on a greased baking sheet.
6. Cover and let rise until double in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Slash a cross on each bun top.
9. Bake the buns for about 45 minutes and then remove from the oven. Let cool.
10. Place all icing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
11. Create a cross on top of each bun using the icing.

Notes

• If you want bigger buns, you can make 9 buns out of the dough instead of 12.
• The egg in this recipe can be omitted. You can replace it with 1/4 cup of water.
• The evaporated milk can also be replaced with water and nonfat dry milk.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes

It is important that you store the yeast in an airtight container in the fridge since heat, moisture, and air can kill the yeast, and this will prevent your buns from rising.