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Homemade hot cross buns recipe a single bun on a pink plate, with coffee and a tray of hot cross buns in the background.
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Classic Hot Cross Buns Recipe from Scratch

The classic hot cross buns recipe you remember, except this recipe replaces candied peel with dried fruit.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American, Canadian
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rising Time 3 hours
Servings 15 buns
Author Leanna Forsythe
Cost $5.00

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • ⅓ c butter
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 pkg dry yeast
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 orange or lemon
  • ½ cup dried apricots chopped fine
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • 6 cups white four

Glaze (Optional)

  • ¼ cup clear corn syrup or honey
  • ¼ cup orange juice squeeze orange used for rind
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon

Icing for Cross

  • ⅓ cup flour
  • ⅓ cup icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp orange juice squeezed from orange or add water if needed

Instructions

  • Start with a small saucepan, add the milk, 1/2 c sugar and the butter. Warm over med low heat until the butter melts. (about 5 min) Set aside to cool.
    A saucepan on the stove with milk and melted butter for making hot cross buns.
  • Take a large mixing bowl. Place warm water, 2 tsp of sugar and yeast together in the bowl. Stir and let sit until the yeast softens (it will be fluffy floating on top). Takes about ten minutes.
  • Cut up the apricots into little chunks. Grate the zest off of one orange (keep the orange), and measure the raisins. Place everything together in a small bowl.
    The fruit needed for my classic hot cross buns recipe. Grated orange, finely diced apricots and raisins all in a white bowl, with the knife and cutting board in the background.
  • Beat 2 eggs, and add to the milk mixture, then add the vanilla.
  • Pour the warm milk egg mixture into the large bowl with the softened yeast.
  • Add 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture.
  • Then add the raisins, cut apricots, and orange zest. Stir in.
    A large bowl full of dough and fruit while making hot cross buns.
  • Add two cups of flour, and sprinkle the top with cinnamon and cardamon. Mix together, the dough will be sticky.
    A large bowl full of sticky sweet dough, before it is kneaded.
  • Spread 1/2 cup of flour onto a clean surface, turn your dough out onto the flour. Knead your dough. Sprinkle with the last 1/2 cup if flour a bit at a time as you knead.

Raising the Sweet Dough

  • Wash and butter the inside of your mixing bowl. Knead until your dough is much smoother and elastic.
    The dough for hot buns kneaded smooth, and placed in a greased bowl for rising.
  • Form your dough into a large ball, place in the bowl. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot. Let rise until double in bulk about 2 hours.
  • Grease a large, rectangular baking pan (approx. 12 x 15'). Line with parchment paper.
  • Pinch the dough off in 1/2 cup sizes. Form into buns and place in pan with a little space between them.
    Pinching of section of a ball of sweet dough in half cup sizes to form into hot cross buns.
  • Cover again with the towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
  • After the buns have risen, using a small serrated knife, cut a shall cross pattern across each bun. Recover with the towel and allow to rise 10 more minutes.
    A pan full of hot cross buns that has been cut with a cross shape using a serated knife.
  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush hot cross buns with melted butter, place in oven. Bake about half an hour until golden.

Making the Glaze (optional)

  • Place the syrup(honey) sugar, juice and cinnamon in a small saucepan, Place over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar and create a syrup. Once boiling, let boil a minute, remove from heat and spoon over the still warm buns.
    Drizzling orange syrupwith a teaspoon over fresh baked hot cross buns for Easter.

Icing Cross

  • Place the icing sugar, flour and orange juice in a small bowl.
    Squeezing an orange into a bowl full of flour and icing sugar for making confectioners icing for the cross on hot cross buns.
  • Beat until smooth, add a little water if you need to thin the icing more. Transfer the icing to a small plastic sandwich bag.
    A small bowl with 1 cup of creamy confectioners icing for homemade hot cross buns.
  • Snip the corner then criss cross the buns where the slits are to form a cross on the top of each bun..
    A tray of warm freshly baked hot cross buns, each crossed with orange icing sugar and drizzled with orange glazed.