Hot Cross Buns. Not just for Easter Sunday, these delicious, fragrant, yeast raised sweet rolls have become a brunch staple year round at our house.
Perfect Hot Cross Buns
Here’s an Easter specialty that will be much appreciated after the morning egg hunt. The scent of these cinnamon and vanilla infused buns baking will wake the entire house in eager anticipation.
Sultana Raisins
I like sultana raisins in mine but dark or golden raisins or currants are also good. If your family is not fond of dried fruits, these are also exceptionally delicious with chocolate chips substituted for the raisins.
If you’re looking for an incredibly easy and totally delicious Easter Ham recipe for lunch, I highly recommend Our Brown Sugar and Dijon Glazed Ham.
Perfect Hot Cross Buns
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Perfect Hot Cross Buns
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Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water, around 100 degrees F
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 envelope regular yeast, 2 1/2 to 3 tsp
- 3 cups flour
- pinch salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup sultana raisins, or golden raisins
- 1 egg yolk, reserved from preparing the dough
- 1 1/2 tbsp water
For the vanilla glaze
- 1/2 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 tsp milk
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface. Do not stir. Let stand for 15 minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment or in a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, salt cinnamon and sugar.
- Add the prepared yeast along with the melted butter, 1 egg, 1 egg white, and vanilla extract.
- Knead with the mixer's dough hook for about 5 minutes or mix together with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together, then knead by hand for about 10 minutes. You may need to dd a little more flour as you knead, if your dough is too sticky. This is not unusual when making yeast doughs of any kind.
- Whether you are using an electric mixer of making the dough by hand you should always knead the raisins into the dough by hand; the mixer tends to crush the raisins and you want to keep them intact, so gentle hand kneading is best to incorporate the raisins into the dough.
- Cover and let stand in a draft-free, warm place for 30 - 40 minutes.
- Grease a 9x13inch baking pan. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form into balls.
- Place them in the prepared pan and let rise for about an hour or until about doubled in size.
- Whisk together the reserved egg yolk and 1 1/2 tbsp water. Brush over the tops of the buns before baking. You need not use it all. This step makes a glossy finish to the tops of the buns.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-35 minutes or a little longer.
- Remove from pan and let rest on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes before piping on the vanilla glaze crosses.
For the vanilla glaze
- Mix together the icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk until smooth. You will want this to be quite a stiff glaze so only add enough milk to bring it to a thick consistency.
- Pipe crosses onto the tops of the warm buns. A Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off works well for this if you do not have a piping bag.
Notes
The total time in this recipe does not include time for the dough to proof. Allow 1 1/2 to 2 hours additional time for this. Warmer kitchens may take less time, colder kitchens will take longer.
Recommended Products
-
KitchenAid Professional 6 Quart Bowl Lift Stand Mixer with Food Grinder Attachment, Empire Red -
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Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 384 Total Fat 10g Saturated Fat 5g Trans Fat 0g Unsaturated Fat 5g Cholesterol 57mg Sodium 138mg Carbohydrates 68g Fiber 3g Sugar 28g Protein 6g
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Anonymous
March 31, 2013 at 11:39 pmThese were really good! But I did have to alter it to make it work for me… I had to use a smaller baking dish than 9×13 and I only cooked them for 20 minutes at 350. Any longer and they would have burned.
Robin
March 19, 2014 at 11:57 pmJust hauled these out of the oven and the are delicious!! I used my bread maker on the dough function to mix everything together and then shaped 12 rolls for the 9×13 dish, weighing them for even sizing. I also only baked them for 20 minutes, I’m not sure if my convection oven had anything to do with that but they were very dark on the top. Next time I make them I will make 15 rolls, with 12 I had buns a little bigger than my fist.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! 🙂
Cecelia Johnson
April 18, 2014 at 2:55 pmWell I did it and I am very please with how it turn out sorry I added a few more spices I was celebrating for every process when I saw dem raising yeah thank you so much for sharing will try again Nassau Bahamas
DeLori Richardson
April 18, 2014 at 5:25 pmI made these yesterday, making a second batch today. I used scalded milk instead of water, and I used 1tsp cinnamon and 1/2tsp of allspice. They came out AWESOME!!!
Mary Jo
March 21, 2015 at 5:56 pmBarry
Two questions: Will instant yeast work in this recipe (the kind you mix in the flour)?
I have vanilla powder from Mexico. How would I use it in this recipe?
Thanks, MJM
Barry C. Parsons
March 25, 2015 at 4:43 pmInstant yeast should work. I’ve never heard of vanilla powder though.
Arlene McCann
March 29, 2015 at 1:14 pmVanilla powder is just ground vanilla beans…..a good source of antioxidants. You would add 1 tsp. to a regular cake recipe……….
Adds a lovely flavour.
Barry C. Parsons
March 30, 2015 at 9:28 amI’d do the same here then. Sounds interesting.
Annette
April 3, 2015 at 9:01 pmIf I wanted to double this recipe would I need to double the yeast as well?
Janet
March 24, 2016 at 7:35 pmYes, all ingredients are doubled, just like you are making the recipe twice.
Elsa
March 25, 2016 at 4:49 pmLooks great! Can’t wait! Could I let the dough rest/ proof overnight and bake in the morning?
Barry C. Parsons
April 8, 2016 at 5:47 amCold proofing overnight should be fine.
Kristin
April 6, 2018 at 11:21 amCan you please explain how to do this? And at what point in the recipe?
Barry C. Parsons
April 6, 2018 at 2:59 pmCold proofing happens when the buns are in the pan. Let them rise for an hour or two depending on room temperature, then put the pan into a plastic bag in the fridge overnight. Preheat oven and bake. They may take an extra few minutes to bake because of the temperature of the dough but generally just a few minutes.
Venus
April 12, 2017 at 3:49 pmCan I make these in a glass dish?
Barry C. Parsons
April 19, 2017 at 3:29 pmYes, cut the temperature by 25 degrees is the rule for glass bakeware.
Lisa
April 14, 2017 at 9:49 pmHave you noticed any difference in what type baking pan you use? Any preference to glass or metal?
Carol Guite
April 2, 2019 at 3:19 pmHello again Barry
Made these last night. Excellent taste. I did add an extra half cup of raisins because I like a lot of them in my baked goods. My husband ate one before I had a chance to put the piped icing on and then had two more after that. Lol I have made so many of your reciipes that I might as well get rid of all my other cookbooks. Thanks again for these tried and true recipes.
Gail
April 19, 2019 at 10:10 amBarry: Do you plump the raisins in hot water and drain well or just as they are from the store? I sometimes find the raisins very dry and hard from the store.
Barry C. Parsons
April 19, 2019 at 10:11 amIf they were hard I would plump them, but it’s usually not necessary.
Betty Duffett
April 20, 2019 at 11:05 pmI have been wanting to make Hot Cross Buns for quite some time and was delighted to find your recipe online. I made them today for the first time and as with every single one of your recipes I have tried, these buns are absolutely delicous!! So light, fluffy and flavourfull! Thank you for sharing!! I will definitely be making them again. Happy Easter!
Barry C. Parsons
April 21, 2019 at 9:09 amDo glad you enjoyed the recipe! Happy Easter.
Gail
April 21, 2019 at 9:14 amI made these buns yesterday in hopes of Easter Sunday morning with a cup of tea. Not a one left this Sunday morning for tea. However your complete Ham dinner is on for later today and since the ham is in the oven (with a pad lock), hopefully there will be some for the Easter feast. I made your cheesecake for dessert and am looking forward to seeing the smiles and hearing the sighs of a wonderful Easter feast well enjoyed by all. Happy Easter.