Friday Recipe: Hot Cross Buns

This came in my email and as I've never tried hot cross buns, I thought I would. They look delicious (and in fact they were!) But they're rolls. No seriously, they're hot rolls. As much as I'm all about baking it myself, it takes a hell of a lot less time to make the Grands biscuits.

OK, they don't have the icing on them but still. They're hot, they're yummy, and they take 10 minutes. 12 minutes if you have trouble opening the container! None the less, here's the recipe for those non-holiday settings where you can take the time to make these and not worry about all the other things you have to make.

Prep Time: 10 Min
Cook Time: 20 Min
Ready In:2 Hrs
Original Recipe Yield 12 buns

Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup water
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional) *skipped*
1/4 cup dried cherries (optional)*skipped*

1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional) *skipped but sounds delicious!*
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract *skipped*

Directions

1.Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let stand until dissolved, about 5 minutes. Place the flour, salt, sugar, cardamom, 1 1/4 cups of milk, butter and egg into the bread machine. Pour the yeast mixture on top. Close the lid and set the machine for the Dough setting. If using raisins, dried cherries or dried cranberries, add them at the beep.

2.When the dough has finished, divide into 12 portions and shape into balls. Place them into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the plastic wrap from the rolls. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Make frosting by whisking together the confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup of milk and almond extract until smooth. When the buns are cool, drizzle frosting over them in a cross shape.

Nutritional Information:
Amount Per Serving Calories: 415
Total Fat: 9.2g
Cholesterol: 40mg