Cross Our Hearts: This Hot Cross Buns Recipe Will Be the Best Thing You Make for Easter (2024)

Easter Sunday is all about tradition. When it comes to your brunch spread or dinner menu, one of the most delicious ways to honor the holy day is with a fresh batch of classic hot cross buns. These sweet, doughy rolls aren't just a tasty treat to serve as a dessert or to pair with a co*cktail—they actually have an interesting and significant history behind them.

Named, naturally, for the cross on top, the seasonal British specialty is customarily made and enjoyed on Good Friday, when Jesus is said to have died on a cross, as well as Easter Sunday, the day he rose from the dead. The cross, either slashed with a knife before baking or formed with frosting after, as in our hot cross buns recipe, serves as a religious reminder.

Some say the history of hot cross buns dates to the 12th century, and Smithsonian Magazine traced text references back to the 16th. Suffice it to say that people have been making the sweet buns for a long, long time.

They're not your ordinary pastry: People once believed that hot cross buns baked on Good Friday wouldn't go stale all year long—and they were believed to ward off evil spirits, provide good luck, and secure friendships, too. These superstitions supposedly even led Queen Elizabeth I to restrict their sale to special occasions only: Christmas, funerals, and, of course, Good Friday.

You used to be able to buy the baked good on the street (you can still buy hot cross buns in most grocery stores today), and the merchants' call even inspired the nursery rhyme: "Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! One a penny, two a penny, Hot cross buns!"

Today, there are many variations on the recipe, but we think ours, made with raisins, candied citrus peel, and crosses of sweet white icing, is one of the best. Find out how to make hot cross buns below.

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Yields:: 12
Total Time:: 2 hrs 30 mins
Cal/Serv:: 244

Ingredients

Canola oil, for coating bowl
1
(.75 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 c.
milk, warmed to 110°F, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
3/4 c.
plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 c.
all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for work surface
2 c.
bread flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 c.
raisins
2 tbsp.
candied lemon peel, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tbsp.
candied orange peel, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
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1 tsp.
kosher salt
1/2 tsp.
ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp.
ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp.
ground cloves
4 tbsp.
(1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2
large eggs, pluslarge egg yolk
2/3 c.
confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp.
pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Step1Make the dough:Coat a bowl with oil. Combine yeast, 1 cup milk, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in a second bowl. Let stand until foamy (if mixture doesn't foam, discard and start again). Combine all-purpose flour, bread flour, raisins, candied lemon peel, candied orange peel, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar in a third bowl. Beat with with a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, on low speed until combined.
2. Step2Add butter, 2 whole eggs, and yeast mixture. Beat until a sticky dough forms, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Form dough into a ball, place in prepared bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Step3Shape the buns: Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Punch dough down and transfer to a lightly work floured surface. Knead for 3 minutes. Divide dough into 12 pieces, about 3 1/2 ounces each. Shape into balls and place, about 1 inch apart, in three rows of four in prepared baking dish. Cover and let rise until doubled in size and touch one another, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
4. Step4Bake the buns: Preheat oven to 500°F with the rack in the lower third. Whisk together egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl. Lightly brush on the top of each bun. Transfer to oven and reduce temperature to 400°F. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool 5 minutes
5. Step5Combine confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and remaining tablespoon milk in a bowl. Drizzle a horizontal line across each row of buns followed by a vertical line to form a cross on the crown.