RECIPE ROUND UP: HOT CROSS BUNS

I try to resist the temptation to indulge in hot cross buns before the Easter long weekend, partly because I've become a bit of a "Hot cross buns should be baked and eaten on Good Friday" purist and also because once I start eating hot cross buns I canne stop! I'm like the Cookie Monster of H.C.B's "NOM NOM NOM NOM!"
I'm still undecided on what recipe I am going to use this year so I thought I would share with you my short list for a recipe round up. My usual is from a Gourmet Traveler magazine a few years ago, it's super delicious and the spiced syrup you boil on the stove makes your house smell delightful! But using a new recipe can be a tad risky, because what if they're duds? Oh well, looks like a few trials before Good Friday might be in order....what a pity - "NOM NOM NOM NOM!"

APPLE AND CINNAMON HOT CROSS BUNS

Image Source: Milk and Honey

These Apple and Cinnamon H.C.B's are adapted from the same Gourmet Traveler recipe I mentioned above. But Jennifer from the blog Milk and Honey purees the apple and lemon that you cook in the spiced syrup. Pears would be a wonderful substitute, especially if you roasted them instead of boiling on the stove. NOM!

FIG AND SOUR CHERRY HOT CROSS BUNS

image Source: The British Larder

Fig and Sour Cherry H.C.B's from The British Larder.....need I say more?

HOT CROSS CINNAMON STICKY BUNS

Sam from Drizzle and Dip asks the important questions such as "What if a hot cross bun and a sticky cinnamon bun had a baby?" These beautiful Hot Cross Cinnamon Sticky Buns that's what! Its hard to not want to lick your computer screen because these things are just everything!!! For Easter Sunday perhaps?

SOUR CHERRY ORANGE AND EARLY GREY HOT CROSS BUNS

Image Source: 84th & 3rd

Tea soaked cherries and fresh orange peel make these Sour Cherry Orange and Earl Grey H.C.B's on the blog 84th & 3rd very appealing. Scroll down to the bottom of the recipe and there are a few flavour alternatives too! yum!

Now if you are thinking you don't have time to make H.C.B's from scratch a great way to get a jump on them is to make the dough the night before. Pip from Meet Me At Mikes has a great step by step post on how to achieve this. She also has a classic H.C.B recipe to go with these instructions but I have used the overnight technique with different recipes...basically you want to do the first prove overnight by making he dough the night before! Then when you wake in the morning turn your oven on first thing to get the kitchen warm, shape the dough into rolls and get on with the rest of the recipe. You'll be eating H.C.B's for morning tea and LOVING THEM!

Happy Easter!