Easter Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

We’re close to the end of Lent with Good Friday and Easter just ahead of us. With the spring holidays, traditions abound and they come in all forms — our favorite form is food! Easter is loaded with fun food traditions, but Good Friday holds one of the more interesting one: hot cross buns.

Hot cross buns are more common in the United Kingdom, but there are a few Americans who carry out the ritual of making the buns and hanging one in the kitchen for a year for good luck or sharing one with a friend to protect the friendship. Though they’re made for the symbolism, they also make a pretty tasty treat. However, there are many more versions of the recipe than there are superstitions. Here’s our hot cross buns recipe.

Hot Cross Buns

• ¾ cups milk, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted (but not hot)
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (about half of a packet)
• 2 TB light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tsp  baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 egg (if you want extra moist hot cross buns, use two yolks in place of the one egg)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (traditionally, currants are used, but cranberries are tastier)

In a bowl fitted to a stand mixer, add butter, sugar, milk and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let stand for five minutes so the yeast gets foamy. Whisk together the remaining dry ingredients and add it all to the yeast mixture. Using the hook attachment, mix on medium-low speed for five minutes.

Add the egg yolk and continue mixing until it’s all well-combined to make a sticky dough. Add the cranberries and mix until they’re distributed evenly in the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic and set aside for one hour. Divide the dough into six balls and place in a prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for one hour.

Egg Wash

• 1 egg white
• 1 TB milk

Preheat oven to 375℉. Whisk together the milk and egg white. Brush egg wash on each ball of dough. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops of the buns are golden brown. Let cool for about ten minutes.

Icing:

• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
• Pinch salt

Mix together all the ingredients. It will be a thick paste. Place in a sealable plastic bag. Pipe icing onto each bun in a cross. This recipe makes six muffin-sized buns, but it can easily be doubled or tripled for a big breakfast to celebrate the end of Lent.

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