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A white baking dish with baked hot cross buns made with chocolate chips
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5 from 4 votes

Hot Cross Buns

These sweet, yeasty hot cross buns, made with chocolate chips instead of raisins, are soft and fluffy rolls traditionally eaten on Good Friday!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Rising Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Bread, Dessert
Cuisine: English
Keyword: Hot Cross Buns
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories: 363kcal
Author: Niki Medlin

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 1 cup milk warm (110 degrees)
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 stick butter melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

For the Flour Paste

  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp sugar

For the Glaze

  • 2 tbsp milk warm
  • 2 tbsp sugar

Instructions

For the Dough

  • In a stand mixer, add the milk, yeast, and honey and let sit 5 minutes.
  • Whisk in the sugar, melted butter, and eggs.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  • Whisk in the flour mixture, half at a time until it is fully incorporated.
  • Add the chocolate chips.
  • Using the dough hook, knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes.
  • Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.
  • Punch down the dough.
  • Divide the dough into 12 pieces, shape into balls, and put into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
  • Cover and let rise 30 minutes.

For the Flour Paste

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Mix together the flour, water, and sugar.
  • Add to a piping bag and pipe a cross on top of each roll.
  • Bake for 25 minutes.

Glazing the Hot Cross Buns

  • Mix together the warm milk and sugar. When the rolls come out of the oven, brush the top of each one with the glaze.

Notes

If you don't have a stand mixer, use a hand mixer up until it is time to knead the dough. To knead the dough, turn the dough on to a floured surface and knead until the dough comes together, about 8 minutes.
1 package of dry active yeast is 2 1/4 tsp.
After the dough has been divided into 12 pieces and put into a greased 9x13 baking dish, it can be refrigerated overnight until ready to serve. When ready to serve, let rolls come to room temperature, pipe on the cross, bake, and glaze.
If you don't have a piping bag, add the flour paste to a plastic baggie and snip off a corner from the bottom of the bag.
Hot Cross Buns can be stored in an air tight container, at room temperature for 2 days.
Hot Cross Buns can be wrapped individually and frozen for 1 month. To thaw, refrigerate overnight. To reheat thawed rolls, wrap in aluminum foil and put in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2.3mg