Hot Cross Bun Cookies!
Hot Cross Bun Cookies – an Easter Recipe everyone can get behind! These biscuits are spiced with hot cross bun spices. But, instead of raisins and mixed peel, sprinkled with chocolate chips instead.
The truth is – I really wanted to make hot cross buns this year. Then my Kitchen Aid stand mixer shuffled off the mortal coil and there is no way in hell I’m making an enriched dough without a stand mixer. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Hot Cross Bun Cookies came to me in my sleep
To say I woke up in the middle of the night with a vision of hot cross bun cookies is no exaggeration. It’s exactly what happened. I knew I needed to take my current spiced cookie recipe and make it into a hot cross bun cookie recipe.
The first thing I did was go out, buy some mixed spice, some chocolate chips …and butter (because somehow we had run out). I had a plan. Now I needed to execute it.
I wasn’t happy with my first iteration, so I tried a second and kinda just came up with these bun-looking biscuits but to be honest, they didn’t photograph well, and I knew, while I was making them that I should have rolled the dough out in a sugar cookie fashion.
I was not happy with the look of these. However, they were tasty and the caramilk chocolate I used for crosses really complimented the flavour. If you like the look of these buns – simply add the chocolate chips to the cookie batter, roll out balls weighing about 30 grams, and pop them into the fridge for at least an hour to hold their shape.
Ingredients for Hot Cross Bun Cookies
Butter – Always makes it better. But you can use baking margarine if you want.
Brown sugar adds a depth of flavour that I think works well with warm spices, while the caster sugar is there to add a bit of snap. For this recipe, I used a 50-50 mix. But if you only have either or, go with it.
Eggs are used to bind this whole cookie together.
Salt – this gives flavour to the flour and balances the sweet.
Cinnamon and mixed spice are what gives this cookie its spicey-hot-cross-bun-Esque flavour.
Flour – just plain standard grade or all-purpose flour is what you need here.
Baking powder gives these cookies a lift.
Vanilla extract – I mean, I have no words as to the importance of a good vanilla extract.
Chocolate chips -I like to used milk chocolate in these. But go with whatever chocolate speaks to your heart.
A simple icing glaze – to give the cookies a hot cross bun look.
Making the Hot Cross Bun Cookies
Step 1 – Allow your ingredients to come to room temperature. If your butter isn’t soft enough for your finger to leave and indent when you poke it, zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time being careful to not melt the butter.
Step 2 – cream your butter, vanilla, salt, spices and sugar until light and fluffy. Then toss in the eggs and continue creaming until light and fluffy.
Step 3 – Whisk the baking powder through the flour.
Step 4 – Mix the flour into the butter mixture until just combined.
Step 5 – Roll out the dough between 2 pieces of baking paper or reusable silicone baking sheets until about 5mm thick. Then sprinkle with chocolate chips and roll these into the dough. Allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 6 – Once your oven has come to temperature, cut out the biscuits using a 5cm round cookie cutter (well, any cookie cutter shape really) and place on the prepared baking sheet about 5cm apart. Bake for 7 – 10 minutes. The outside will be crispy and the inside will be soft. Let the cookies cool on a baking rack.
Step 7 – If you are making hot cross bun cookies, you can then mix up your icing sugar glaze, place in a piping bag and pipe crosses over your cookies. If I was making this again, I would probably use Royal Icing.
📖 Recipe
Hot Cross Bun Biscuits
Ingredients
Hot Cross Bun Biscuits
- 170 grams butter
- 75 grams light brown sugar
- 75 grams white granulated sugar (caster or granulated)
- 1 egg (med/large)
- 285 grams plain flour (all-purpose/standard grade)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoon mixed spice (pumpkin spice mix)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 100 grams chocolate chips
Hot Cross Bun Crosses
- 100 grams icing sugar (powdered sugar or confectioners sugar)
- 10-16 grams milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Bring all ingredients to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- Soften the butter until you can make a dent in it with your finger.
- Cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and spices together until light and fluffy. Using a stand mixer or handheld electric beater.
- Add in the eggs, and beat until well incorporated.
- Combine the baking powder and salt with the flour, giving a mix to make sure it is evenly distributed.
- Combine the flour with the butter mix using the stand mixer or electric beater until just combined.
- Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking paper until about 5mm thick. Then sprinkle with chocolate chips and roll again to make sure they are embedded in the dough. Alternatively, add the chocolate chips to the dough after you have cut them out.
- Allow the cookies to rest in the fridge for 15- 30 minutes. This allows the butter in the cookie to set up for baking.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Cut out the cookies using a cookie-cutter about 5cm in diameter (or any shape that feels like Easter to you). Recombine and roll out the leftover dough until you have used up as much as possible.
- Place the biscuits on a baking paper-lined cookie sheet, approximately 5cm apart, and bake for 8 - 10 minutes. the edges will be crispy and the centre will be soft. Let the biscuits rest on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack using a spatula.
- Allow the biscuits to cool completely on the wire rack.
- For Hot Cross Bun Biscuit Crosses (Optional Extra)
- Using a whisk, mix together the icing sugar, vanilla extract and milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a nice piping consistency.
- Place the icing sugar into a piping bag with a small tip (sized to the desired width of your crosses).
- Allow the icing to set before serving.
- You can store the cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for about a week.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs,I earn from qualifying purchases.
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