It’s been a Nokomis Heights tradition for many years to serve home-baked hot cross buns on Palm Sunday. This year, besides serving them at church, we’re providing the recipe—so you can make your own at home!
Have you ever wondered why we eat hot cross buns during Holy Week? Just what is the story behind these spicy and sweet buns?
Legend has it that a 12th century English monk was the first to bake them, after observing poor families living on the streets of his village. With Easter just days away, he wanted to do something special for these families. He set about making a large batch of sweet dough to which he added cinnamon and raisins and all good things. Then he formed the dough into little balls, and just before putting them in the oven, he cut a cross in the tops of them as a reminder of the cross Jesus gave his life on.
Other legends assign magical qualities to the buns, such as staying fresh for a whole year (the crumbs were even mixed with water as a medicine) and being able to repel evil spirits (they were carried onto sailing ships for this reason). Queen Elizabeth I even proclaimed them too special to be made any other day than Good Friday.
What we do know about them is that hot cross buns have been enjoyed at Easter time for centuries. And at Nokomis Heights, we continue to enjoy them today!
Here’s the recipe we use for our traditional hot cross buns, from our 75th Anniversary Cookbook:
Bun Ingredients
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
3-4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 egg, beaten
Icing Ingredients
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. Scald milk; add butter and stir until melted. When cool, combine with yeast. Sift together 3 cups of flour and the salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Beat dry ingredients into the milk mixture to form a stiff dough. Add more flour as necessary. Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead in the raisins until evenly distributed throughout the dough. Place in a buttered bowl, turn to grease top, and cover. Let rise until double. Punch down. Pull off 1/2 cup amounts of dough and shape into rolls. Place on an un-greased baking sheet. Cover rolls and let rise until doubled in size. Cut a deep cross in the top of each roll with a sharp knife (or kitchen shears) and brush top with beaten egg. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes (check!). Let rolls cool, then pipe a white icing cross on the top of each.
To make icing: Beat together powdered sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Use a pastry bag or a plastic sandwich bag with one corner cut off for piping on rolls.
Makes approximately 1 dozen buns.
