Hot Cross Buns

I'm here to help you start planning your Easter baking. Because you're all just thinking away about all the baking you'll be doing Friday and Saturday, right? There's nothing else on your "to-do" list for the week, right? I thought so.

've found through the years that regardless of how many Hot Cross Buns you plan to make, the best way to do it is to make one batch the size of this recipe at a time; that way, the next batch is mixing while you form your cute little dough balls. I made 4 batches: 1 on Friday, and 3 on Saturday, one of which was baked Sunday morning.

HOT CROSS BUNS

1 cup warm milk (around 100F)
2-1/2 tsp yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup melted butter
5 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup raisins

Put the milk in the bread machine mixing container, or in a mixing bowl, and sprinkle the yeast over it. Add the other ingredients in the order given, reserving the raisins until after all of the ingredients are well combined, and the dough is forming a nice, stiff ball. Turn the bread machine on to mix only for 15 minutes, or mix in the Kitchenaid stand mixer (stirring the ingredients together by hand will be hard, since this is stiff dough). 5 minutes before the mixing is done, pour in the raisins. Let the dough stand for 5 to 10 minutes, then divide into 16 pieces. Form each one into a ball, and let rise until nearly doubled in size. Brush with 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tbsp water, and let the dough rise a few minutes longer. Bake at 400F for 22 to 25 minutes, until the desired degree of brown is reached. For the frosting crosses, stir together 2 cups confectioners sugar with 1 tsp vanilla extract and enough cream to make it drizzling consistency. Drizzle the frosting in a cross pattern over each Hot Cross Bun.

Oh, and let the buns cool if you want actual frosting crosses. Otherwise, you'll have frosting drips like mine.

Two of my girls will be coming home Thursday night (no Friday classes), and Jeff, who's currently job hunting in Pittsburgh, will be coming home Friday, and bringing his college roommate, with whom he's crashing during said job hunt. So I expect to make some Hot Cross Buns Friday, and more on Saturday; Easter dinner will be Saturday night. Then Sunday will be traditional Easter activities, including the visit by the bunny, before everyone leaves around 2. So, you can expect a couple more Easter food posts this week, to help you with your planning!