• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Cookies
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Cookies
    • Birthday Cake Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans
  • Shop

Easter Hot Cross Biscuits

April 7, 2022 by Joy the Baker 7 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Hot cross biscuits frosted on a baking sheet.

Where do you land when it comes to Easter brunch?  Are you a ham, roasted lamb, and scalloped potato family?  Are you more of a quiche salad and biscuit clan?  Do you skip directly to the jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs?  I’m nodding my head yes – there’s no wrong way to do it.  We are a ham family.  Ham and biscuits.  Ham, biscuits and plastic eggs filled with either chocolate or the coveted one dollar bill.  However you get down, today’s offering is an updated JtB classic – Hot Cross Buns turned into the much more approachable Hot Cross Biscuits.  No fussing with yeast and rise times. Yes fussing with cream cheese frosting and dried fruit.

Ever wonder WHY Hot Cross things are synonymous with Easter?  Me too.  The Kitchn  provides us with insights.  With that little bit of trivia tucked under your belt, my prayer is that your Easter weekend is filled with buttery warm biscuits and not one single pair of uncomfortable tights under your Easter dress. We can explore why our childhood tights were downright criminal another time.

Though it’s not officially Good Friday, I hope it’s a good Friday nonetheless. Wait was that a catholic pun?  Hm, let’s make biscuits!

Ingredients for hot cross bun biscuit recipe.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these Hot Cross Buns (that are secretly just biscuits):

•  all-purpose flour

•  baking powder

•  kosher salt

•  cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

•  buttermilk

•  a large egg

•  dried currants, dried cherries, raisins, or finely chopped dried apricots

•  lemon or orange zest

•  cream cheese

•  powdered sugar

•  milk

•  vanilla extract

•  spices are optional but lovely, a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg

I don’t use any special equipment save for this set of biscuit cutters.

Dry ingredients for hot cross buns biscuits in a large bowl.
Cold butter added to dry ingredients for biscuits.


We’ll start our hot cross buns turned Easter biscuit recipe by whisking together the dry ingredients.  In a large mixing bowl sir together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add the cold butter and whatever citrus zest you’re using.  Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to work the cold butter into small butter bits within the dry ingredients.  The butter bits will be the size of small peas and oat flakes after a speedy 3 to 5 minutes of working the ingredients.

Toss in the dried fruit you prefer.  These are dried currants which are traditional to the Hot Cross Bun though cherries or chopped dried apricots are my preference. A few dashes of cinnamon and nutmeg are nice but not totally necessary.

Incorporating wet ingredients for easter hot cross buns.
Adding wet ingredients to dry for bun, biscuit recipe.


Next we’ll whisk together the wet ingredients: a large egg meets cold buttermilk.

Create a well in the middle of the buttery dry ingredients and add the egg and buttermilk mixture.  I use a wooden spoon to bring the two together into a shaggy dough.

Biscuit dough mixed in a bowl with wooden spoon
Hot cross buns or biscuits cut into quarters.


The dough will feel cohesive and just a bit sticky. Make sure there are no hidden dry patches at the bottom of the bowl.

Roll the biscuit dough on a lightly floured work surface.  I like to keep the dough about 1-inch thick before cutting into rounds.  Tall biscuit dough will bake into tall biscuits.

To hot cross the biscuits, cut each round in quarters.  Tuck the pieces, cozy next to each other on the baking pan. The hot cross buns will bake up with an indentation – a perfect space for cream cheese icing.

Mixing cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar for bot cross buns.

While the biscuits bake and cool, whip together an easy cream cheese frosting.

Naturally, the frosting is my favorite part of these biscuits. A little sweet. A little buttery. Rich with cream cheese.  It’s almost as though we could skip the smear of butter and jam on these biscuits. I mean… we won’t, but maybe we could.

Use a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip (I used a Wilton 12 tip) or a sturdy plastic freezer bag with the corner snipped off to pipe crosses with a generous amount of cream cheese frosting onto the biscuits.  Serve same day or keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

That’s your holiday brunch biscuit! Happy Easter, friends!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Hot cross buns frosted.

Easter Hot Cross Biscuits

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12-15 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: about 10 biscuits 1x
  • Category: brunch, bread, holiday
Pin Recipe
Print Recipe

Description

Easter festive buttermilk biscuits. The easiest way to make Hot Cross Buns are these biscuits with dried currants, lemon zest, and a quick cream cheese frosting.


Ingredients

Scale

For the Biscuits:

  • 3 cups (381 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup dried currants or diced dried cherries

For the Frosting:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup (130 grams) powdered sugar
  • Splash of milk if necessary
  • dash of vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add lemon zest.  Add cold butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture.  Work quickly to incorporate the butter into the flour.  The butter bits will be the size of small pebbles and oat flakes.
  3. Whisk together egg and buttermilk.
  4. Toss the dried currants or your preferred dried fruit into the dry ingredient mixture, and create a small well in the center of the flour and butter mixture.  Pour in the buttermilk mixture, all at once, and use a fork or wooden spoon to incorporate the ingredients.  Make sure that all of the flour bits are moistened by the egg and buttermilk.
  5. Dump the shaggy dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Bring together, kneading lightly, until the dough forms a 1-inch thick disk.  Use a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter to cut biscuit circles. Cut a biscuit into quarters and place on the baking sheet nestled together even though they’re sliced. Repeat with all of the biscuits.  Gently knead the remaining dough scraps together.  Form into a 1-inch thick disk and cut out more round biscuits until no dough remains.
  6. Brush biscuit tops with buttermilk and bake  for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned on top and firm-ish in the center.
  7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting with a cross.
  8. In a medium bowl, using a firm spatula, blend together 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons cream cheese, and 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Add just a dash of vanilla extract and a sprinkle of cinnamon if you’d like.  Mixture will be thick.
  9. Cut a small tip off of a zip lock bag (you can also use a small round cake decorating tip).  Fold down the sides of the bag and scoop the frosting into the bag.  Pipe crosses onto completely cooled biscuits, into the crease.
  10. Biscuits are best served the day they are made, but will last, well wrapped at room temperature, for one day.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast, Holiday

Previous Post: « Taylor Swift’s Strawberry White Chocolate Chai Sugar Cookies
Next Post: »

Reader Interactions

All Comments
I Made This
Questions
  1. Kristin

    April 18, 2022 at 9:19 am

    I love Hot Cross Buns, my husband is iffy on them, however we both love biscuits, so this seemed perfect! Made these a few days before Easter and individually wrapped and froze the biscuits to bake on Easter. I used a KA mix of dried fruit and followed the recipe exactly. These were outstanding! Perfect marriage of the two and I will make these year round. Thank you!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Libbi V.

    April 17, 2022 at 6:08 pm

    Had a bit of a snafu making these – forgot to work in the butter in before adding the buttermilk and egg mixture, so they baked off weird. But the flavor was amazing! I used dried apricots instead of currants, and it was so spring-y!

    Reply
  3. Sue

    April 8, 2022 at 10:53 am

    I have never had a hot crossed bun. And my success rate with making biscuits is
    more like a hockey puck. Not much to rave about. However, this recipe looks like a recipe to try. You always come up with something worthwhile and easy enough to make and I thank you. I usually like to hard boil some eggs and color them with natural dyes. Later on, they can be used for deviled eggs which are a big hit here. They can also be turned into egg salad very easily that way.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Kelsey

    April 8, 2022 at 10:28 am

    Yum! I may have to add this to my already carb-heavy brunch. We are a pierogi family. Potatoes stuffed in noodles? Yes, please! Accoutrements are essential, too. Growing up in Buffalo, we had to have Weber’s, a horseradish mustard, and lots of sauerkraut!

    Reply
    • jk

      April 8, 2022 at 1:21 pm

      Weber’s!! And always orange chocolate & sponge candy from Platter’s in my Easter basket! (washed down with a gigundous glass of Aunt Rosie’s loganberry, of course! tee-hee!) xx

      Reply
      • Kelsey

        April 10, 2022 at 12:32 pm

        Omg! Loganberry! It’s been too long. I have been trying to perfect my sponge candy recipe but I can’t get the perfect bubbles without burning the sugar or having to crumble! Shout out if you have a good substitute for Fowler’s!

        Reply
  5. Julia Nicander

    April 8, 2022 at 5:01 am

    The menu for our family’s Easter (in Sweden) looks like this:

    Pickled herring (three flavors: mustard, french onion and pimentos/allspice)
    Smoked lox with a dill sauce
    Smoked lamb with mint jelly
    Deviled eggs
    Potatoes
    Sour cream and chives
    Cheese pies topped with roe
    Hard bread and stinky cheese
    “Easter must” a beverage close in flavor to Coca Cola but with Swedish spices and beer
    Schnaps

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Bread

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate
How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Micro batch baking – the invitation is to get all the way into it with me!  This is all very Kristin Wiig  making herself a single, sad cupcake in the movie Bridesmaids, save for the fact that there is absolutely zero sadness in me eating a single cinnamon roll over the kitchen sink in my…

Read More

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.
Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

Think of tender breakfast rolls and cinnamon rolls without the cinnamon, scented with heavenly orange and just the right amount of warming nutmeg and ginger. Honestly if cinnamon rolls disappeared from the world, we’d all be just fine – these orange rolls hit the spot. I’m headed back to Los Angeles for the Christmas weekend…

Read More

Baked pull apart garlic bread baked in a loaf pan.
Erin’s Roasted Garlic Herb Pull-Apart Bread

What’s better than a fresh baked loaf of bread? Making that loaf pull-apart in buttery sheets scented with herbs and laden with butter. This pull apart garlic bread is a contender for any dinner table, but would be especialy impressive instead of store bought rolls this Thanksgiving! Let’s bake! At the Wilson family Thanksgiving table,…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

BREADS YOU’LL LOVE

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate

How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

Baked pull apart garlic bread baked in a loaf pan.

Erin’s Roasted Garlic Herb Pull-Apart Bread

LET’S MAKE COOKIES!

Raspberry linzer cookie recipe stacked on baking sheet.

Raspberry Lemon Linzer Cookies

Iced Oatmeal Cookies layered on a cooling rack.

Eggnog Iced Oatmeal Cookies

My 12 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
🙋‍♀️ if you buy bananas just so they can 🙋‍♀️ if you buy bananas just so they can languish on the counter long enough to be baked. ⁣
⁣
These Almond Flour Banana Bread cookies are stacked with walnuts and chocolate and one of the best way I know how to celebrate a speckled banana. Find the recipe linked in the profile! xo #bananabread #glutenfreerecipes #joythebaker #cookies #bakingrecipes
Just tryna get the most cheese on my most simple s Just tryna get the most cheese on my most simple small-batch bagel recipe. Get in on this with me: ⁣
⁣
2 Easy No Yeast Bagels⁣
1/2 cup self-rising flour⁣
4 tablespoons greek yogurt (plus a teaspoon or two more if needed)
1 large egg, beaten for egg wash⁣
1/3 - 1/2 cup grated gouda or gruyere⁣
Everything bagel seasoning⁣
3 tablespoons baking soda with 2 cups of boiling water. ⁣
⁣
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray the paper lightly with nonstick spray. ⁣
⁣
In a small bowl, use a firm spatula to work together the flour and yogurt. Add a few teaspoons of yogurt if it feels dry and knead into a cohesive ball for 5 minutes or so. Sprinkle with a bit more flour if it gets overly sticky. Cover with a damp paper towel and gather your toppings. ⁣
⁣
Divide dough in two and roll each piece into a roughly 8-inch rope. Bring the ends around and pinch into a circle. ⁣
⁣
Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared pan with grated cheese in two spots.  Pour boiling water over the baking soda and float each bagel in the water for 20 or so seconds.  Use a slotted spot or spatula to transfer the bagels on top of the cheese.  Brush lightly with egg. Sprinkle with more cheese and everything bagel seasoning. ⁣
⁣
Bake for 20 - 22 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and smearing with cream cheese.
Here to remind you that you can mix a few ingredie Here to remind you that you can mix a few ingredients together tonight and have a hot little loaf of bread in the morning. ⁣
⁣
This easy, nearly no-knead Rye Bread is essentially a magic trick. I’ll leave the recipe linked and big love to my friends @lecreuset for the most elite bread pot!
Cinnamon Rolls but make ‘em Mardi Gras. 💜💛 Cinnamon Rolls but make ‘em Mardi Gras. 💜💛💚⁣⁣
⁣⁣
For the rolls: ⁣⁣
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk⁣⁣⁣
• 1 large egg⁣⁣⁣
• 1 large egg yolk⁣⁣⁣
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened⁣⁣⁣
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting⁣⁣⁣
• 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast⁣⁣⁣
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar⁣⁣⁣
• ¾ teaspoon salt⁣⁣⁣
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
For the filling:⁣⁣
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened⁣⁣⁣
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed⁣⁣⁣
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
For the icing:⁣⁣
• 4 ounces softened cream cheese⁣⁣⁣
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar or glazing sugar⁣⁣⁣
• 1 tablespoon milk⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
1. To make the dough, place all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low until the dough begins to come together. You may want to speed up the process by first mixing all of the ingredients together by hand with a spatula before putting the bowl on the stand mixer. This will help the dough hook work. The dough will come together into a soft, though not too sticky dough ball after several minutes of hand mixing and stand mixer mixing.⁣⁣⁣
2. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Let rise for 60 minutes while you prepare the filling and icing.⁣⁣⁣
3. To make the filling: Combine the butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon into a paste. Set aside.⁣⁣⁣
4. To make icing, whisk together cream cheese and sugar. Add the milk and whisk until smooth.  Place in a small bowl and refrigerate. ⁣⁣⁣
5. Roll the dough into a 18 x 12 inch rectangle.⁣⁣⁣
6. Spread the cinnamon filling evenly over the dough.⁣⁣⁣
7. Beginning with one long edge, roll the dough into a log. Cut the log into 8 or 10 equal slices. Place the slices in a greased 9×13-inch baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes. ⁣⁣⁣
8. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.  Bake the rolls for 30 to 35 minutes, until they’re golden brown and bubbling. Remove the rolls from the oven.⁣⁣⁣
9.  Drizzle icing over the warm buns and enjoy! ⁣
I’ve taken these Little Banana Pancakes on as a I’ve taken these Little Banana Pancakes on as a personality trait. ⁣
⁣
Full recipe linked in the bio or just take the concept and a box of pancake mix and I’ll see you at the kitchen table. Xo
This recipe is an essential life skill. Not an und This recipe is an essential life skill. Not an understatement. Two Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe linked in the bio, babes. Xo 🍪
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up