Christmas Hot Cross Buns

Christmas Hot Cross Buns. A Holiday version of the Easter favourite that just may become a new Christmas tradition!

Christmas Hot Cross Buns

A few years back when I was planning my Christmas Cookbook, I was reminded of a few messages I had received from our followers. I have been asked quite a few times leading up to the Christmas season if I had a recipe for Hot Cross Buns.

I really had only associated them with Springtime and Easter. It appears though, that for some folks, it was a traditional Christmas treat as well in their families. 

Actually, there has been a very popular recipe for Easter Hot Cross Buns on this website for quite a few years. 

I always liked the photo for these because it really does convey a spring vibe. So, I again thought, why not a Christmas version? Why not indeed?

Cookbook inspiration.

Looking for new recipes for that cookbook, I thought these would make a good addition. In the book, these actually appear on the same page as our Christmas Fruit Bread.

I figured since I already had a great sweet dough recipe for that, why not adapt it to some Christmas Hot Cross Buns? It certainly does make the recipe more versatile. 

A full batch of the fruit bread recipe can give you enough dough for one loaf plus a batch of these buns. Not a bad idea at all.

Mixed glace fruit.

Like the Fruit bread, this one can also act as a  base recipe that can be changed to suit your taste. If you like you can add different kinds of dried glace fruits, candied mixed citrus peel and even just plain glacé cherries.

The mixed fruit version is still my favourite but even them I’ll add a few extra cherries into the mix. Especially if I have red and green on hand, to make it look just that little bit more festive.

I like to use both red and green glacé cherries for a more festive look.

They would certainly be great as a perfect, fresh from the oven Christmas Eve treat or Christmas morning breakfast.

If you are looking for more recipes like this, we have gathered a collection of our Most Popular Christmas Recipes of the past 12 years
 Like this Christmas Hot Cross Buns recipe?

If you’re looking for other food gift ideas for the Holidays or just lots of seasonal recipe suggestions for both cooking and baking, be sure to browse our Christmas Recipes Category.

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Christmas Hot Cross Buns

Yield: 12 hot cross buns

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes

Christmas Hot Cross Buns. A Holiday version of the Easter favourite that just may become a new Christmas tradition!

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Ingredients

• 4 cups flour (approximately)
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup warm milk
• 3/4 cup mixed glacé fruit
• 1/2 cup glacé cherries, quartered

For the Vanilla glaze

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp milk (approximately)

Instructions

Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour along with the sugar, instant yeast and salt in a large
bowl or in the bowl of a large electric mixer that uses a dough hook.

Add the melted butter, warm milk, egg and vanilla extract.

Using a wooden spoon or the regular paddle of your electric mixer mix for 4-5
minutes at slow speed until the mixture is smooth with no lumps.

If using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook at this point and begin to slowly
incorporate the remaining flour. If not using an electric mixer keep mixing in the
flour gradually until a soft dough forms that leaves the sides of the bowl. You may
need to use a little less or a little more flour than indicated in the recipe, this is not
uncommon.

Knead the dough for an additional 10 minutes either in the electric mixer or on a
floured breadboard or counter top.

Place dough in a large bowl and leave to rest and let it rise for only about 45
minutes.

Punch the dough down and gently knead in the mixed fruit and glacé cherries by hand for a few
minutes just enough to distribute them evenly throughout the dough.

Divide dough in 12 equal portions and form into buns. 

Place the dough balls into a greased 9x13 pan.

Cover with a clean tea town l and let them rise until doubled in size; about an hour in a warm kitchen.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees F until golden brown.

Use 1 cup of icing sugar mixed with a tablespoon or two of milk to make a glaze to pipe crosses
onto the cooled buns.

Notes

Instructions

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1 hot cross bun
Amount Per Serving Calories 269Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 28mgSodium 147mgCarbohydrates 49gFiber 2gSugar 15gProtein 6g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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