Just made these buns today, wonderful. I didn't want to wait to add the raisins, (not a currant in the house)so they went in with everything else, didn't seem to hurt anything except to maybe make the buns a darker color, if you want whole raisins don't do this. A quick tip to make the frosting, put your powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a heavy plastic sandwich bag, mix by kneading the bag gently when all the ingredients are mixed well cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bag and squeeze to make the crosses.
Since I was short on time, I decided to try this bread machine version over my 'traditional' recipe....and these buns were awesome! The even tasted just like my regular recipe! I did make some changes as my standby recipe was a bit different and you may want to try this too: I added 1 tsp. each vanilla extract & butter flavoring, 1/2 tsp. allspice, 1 tsp. each dried lemon and orange peel and 3/4C. mixed candied fruit. So good with a cup of tea.....
My husband says that the traditional hot cross buns have a sweetened dough cross rather than an icing one, so I made a sweet dough out of an egg white, some confectioners sugar, all purpose flour and some vanilla and put it on after brusing the tops with the egg yolk mixture - turned out great! Our guests loved them and asked for the recipe!
Absolutely delish! Instead of using the warm water and powdered milk, I used 3/4 cup of warm skim milk. I ended up leaving off the crosses, so that it's easier to heat them up, toast them, etc. and we loved them. So easy!!
To make the buns more traditional (and toastable) make a paste of plain flour and water (you can add a tiny bit of sugar and spice to make it more tasty) and pipe the buns with crosses of paste before baking.
Then, brush buns with a swwt glaze (sugar, water, gelatin, spice) when they come out of the oven.
Also, try using rasins and peel.
YUM!
This is a great recipe! I added 2/3 cup of candied fruit and 1 teaspoon of Vanilla to original recipe. I used rasins instead of currants and unbleached flour because that was what I had on hand! I love them! The house smells wonderful!!! I think I could make a double batch in my bread machine next time. I made two individual recipes for Easter and I am sure they will be a hit tomorrow! Thanks Sue! I love using the bread machine to make the dough. They are quick to throw together!
Really good recipe. They turn out a little heavier than store bought HCB, but I'm an unexperienced breadmaker and have had this happen with other yeast breat recipes. Also, I didn't use a breadmaker(just kneeded for 5-10 minutes) Maybe they would end up fluffier if I used a breadmaker. I put a sweetdough cross on it as well instead of icing and found this to more like the store bought ones. I used 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup icing sugar, vanilla and 2 tsp or so milk to make it the desired consistancy. The second time I made them I tried putting the sweetdough in an empty milkbag with a small hole cut in the corner and piped the crosses on the buns. They definately taste better with cloves and allspice(1/2 tsp each) added. I also used raisons and found them fine.
These were really very nice! I was pleasantly surprised to find a recipe for this Easter treat that I could make in my bread machine. Fancier models of bread machines that have a dough cycle that includes a rising time can omit the rising in the pan described in the original recipe. I also would go ahead and add the currants/raisins and cinnamon with the rest of the ingredients, rather than waiting. The taste is much like very light white bread with a hint of cinnamon and raisins. If you prefer more zip, add the allspice, vanilla, butter extract etc as recommended by a previous reviewer. However, the recipe as it stands is really very good. The buns come out huge and golden - picture perfect.
The BEST recipe for Hot Cross Buns I've ever had. I've used this recipe for years and had many people request the recipe. The only change I make is to add mixed dried fruit and peel as a substitute for most of the currants AND I remove the dough to a bowl sprayed with Pam and let it rise (covered with a towel) in a warm place. This frees up the machine to start a 2nd or 3rd batch!! Thanks. YUMMY!
a little too heavy but they all got eaten.
