These Hot Cross Buns have all the flavors of traditional rolls but made much easier with store bought rolls. This classic Easter recipe is ideal if you are short on time or intimidated by bread baking. Ready in 40 minutes, including baking time!

Easter is one of the most important holidays that Christians celebrate. It is traditional to eat hot cross buns on Good Friday every year.
What are hot cross buns? It is sweet, enriched yeast bun made with dried and spices, and then marked with a cross on top, which makes them instantly recognizable. The cross is believed to represent the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is made using flour marked before baking or etched on top with icing.
Dating back to 12th century, they are traditionally eaten in Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday, also known as the "Day of the Cross"), they mark the end of lent season for Christians. Have you checked out the meatless dinner recipes for lent?
They can be eaten plain or buttered and also very good when split in half, toasted, and served with butter and jam.
The origin of hot cross buns traces back to Anglo-Saxon times when bakers marked their loaves with crosses for a successful bake, warding off evil spirits.
The superstition persisted, especially for Good Friday loaves. Another belief held that hot cross buns baked on this day never molded, bringing good luck if saved until the next year. Over time, they evolved, adding fruits and spices for health and prosperity. Initially called "cross buns," they became known as hot cross buns in the 18th century.
Fun fact - The Hot Cross Bun rhyme probably evolved from the street cry and, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, it was recorded in “The Christmas Box,” published in London in 1798.
It’s thought it started from bakers yelling at customers to buy their buns, but has now become a traditional nursery rhyme sang at Easter time, or used to teach children how to play the recorder.
Is it hot cross buns or hot crossed buns? The correct name is “hot cross buns” but some people may think they’ve heard it as “hot crossed” and so that’s what they repeat.
As much as we love freshly baked breads from scratch like the dutch oven bread, a semi homemade recipe comes in handy when you are short on time like the cinnamon rolls with Hawaiian rolls. If you are hosting a Easter brunch after church or Easter egg hunt, then is a great addition to your spread, since it is extremely easy to make. Check out more Easter recipes.
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Why will you like it?
- Ready in about 40 minutes from start to finish.
- Semi homemade recipe.
- Captures all the traditional flavors!
- Great for entertaining.
- Lightly sweet, warm and spicy.
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- Rolls - Look for sweet, egg enriched rolls in your grocery store like King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, Brioche rolls, sweet dinner rolls, Hawaiian dinner rolls or Hawaiian sweet buns.
- Orange - Both the zest and freshly squeezed juice is added for optimal orange goodness.
- Butter - Just 2 tablespoons of butter for richness.
- Raisins - I used golden raisins. Although currants are used in traditional hot cross buns recipe, it is sometimes hard to find them in regular grocery stores.
- Sugars - Whit granulated sugar is used for the orange butter glaze and confectioners sugar for the icing.
- Spices - A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice for the classic flavors.
How to make?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
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Step 1: Make Orange-cinnamon glaze - Stir together warm melted butter, orange juice, finely grated orange zest, ground cinnamon and all spice.
Step 2: Cut each roll one direction (not cutting all the way through), turn 90° and cut in the opposite direction.
Step 3: Stuff the cut opening with raisins and then drizzle orange butter.
Step 4: Bake and finish with icing - Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and cool until warm.
Step 5: Stir confectioners sugar, vanilla and water or milk to make a very thick glaze. Spoon into a small zip lock bag, snip off a corner and squeeze cross pattern on the baked rolls.
Glaze consistency - Make sure that the hot cross buns icing is a thick consistency, otherwise you might not get a distinctive cross pattern. To check the right consistency, when lifted from the surface with a spoon, it forms a soft peak but doesn’t flow back into the rest of the icing. It should not be too thick that it’s hard to stir nor too thin that it settles into a flat surface after several seconds.
Helpful tips
- Use only sweet rolls and not salty, spicy or savory ones.
- Grate orange zest using a microplane into a fine zest.
- Adjust spices or skip them based on your liking.
- Raisins or currants? Although currants are uses in traditional recipes, it sometime hard to find them in regular grocery stores. Golden raisins are a great substitute.
- Cut the rolls about one inch deep and not all the way through.
- Make sure the butter is warm for a pouring consistency. Drizzle into the cut openings, so the the mixture soaks into the bread.
Storage
If you have any leftovers, then simply store them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a day or two. Do not refrigerate.
To freeze - Freeze the baked and cooled rolls (without the confectioners sugar icing) for up to a month. Thaw overnight at room temperature, glaze and serve after glaze sets.
💡 Did you know? Hot cross buns made from scratch feature two methods for the iconic cross atop the buns: either a flour and water paste piped before baking or confectioners' sugar icing piped on after baking.
More Easter recipes
Hot Cross Buns
Ingredients
- 1 package 12 sweet rolls like Kings Hawaiian or Brioche type rolls
- 1 to 2 tablespoons golden raisins or currants
Orange-Butter
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter warm
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- zest of one orange finely grated
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground all spice optional
- 1 to 2 pinch freshly grated nutmeg optional
- 1 pinch salt
Glaze
- ¾ cup confectioners sugar
- 2 to 3 teaspoons water or milk
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Choose a baking pan that can fit one package rolls. Spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cut each roll in one direction (about 1-inch deep), turn 90 degrees and cut in the other direction (refer photos/video). Gentle transfer rolls into the baking pan.
- Insert raisins or currants into the cut opening.
- Make orange-butter - Stir all orange butter ingredients in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Tip: Make sure that butter is warm when mixing, else it will not result in a drizzling consistency.
- Using a spoon drizzle orange butter evenly into the cut opening, making sure the butter soaks into the bread. Use all the butter.
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Place baking pan on a wire rack and let cool until lukewarm.
- Make glaze - Stir all glaze ingredients in a bowl, until smooth and very thick or "piping consistency" to get a distinctive cross pattern (When lifted from the surface with a spoon, it forms a soft peak and doesn't flow back into the rest of the icing. If its' too thick that it will be hard to stir and too thin will settle into a flat surface after several seconds).Tip: Mix in more water if thick or more confectioners sugar if thin.
- Transfer to a zip lock bag, close to seal. Snip off a small piece at the corner. Pipe a line down the center of each row of buns, then repeat in the other direction to create a cross pattern.
- Let icing set for about an hour before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
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