Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns

Hey there, awesome parents! We know how challenging it can be to find treats that tick all the boxes: tasty, healthy, and suitable for our unique little ones. Our Gluten-Free Hot Cross Buns are here to bring a smile to your family's table, without the worry. Perfect for a cozy family breakfast or a sweet afternoon snack, these buns are designed to be both kid-approved and parent-appreciated. Let's bake a batch together!

Ingredients

Buns:

• 1/4 cup Zante currants or raisins
• 1/8 cup orange juice
• 2 1/2 cups (11½ oz.) good quality gluten-free flour blend
• 2 tsp. SAF instant yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk
• 3/8 cup warm water (105-110°)
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 egg (preferably room temp)
• 1 tsp. cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Icing:

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. powdered confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tablespoon Almond milk

Instructions:

Buns:

1. In a small bowl, soak the currants in the orange juice. Place in microwave for 15-20 seconds or until warm. Let sit while you prepare rest of recipe.
2. In the mixing bowl of your electric mixer, mix together flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
3. With mixer running on low speed, add in the warm water, warm almond milk, coconut oil, egg, cider vinegar, and vanilla extract.
4. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Dump in the Zante currants with all of the orange juice they were in.
6. Mix on medium speed for 45 seconds, then hand stir with a spatula, scraping sides to mix all together.
7. Remove bowl from mixer and stir with a spatula to make sure everything on the bottom got mixed in well.
8. Spray 8" or 9" round cake pan or pie plate with cooking spray. Using a large #20 cookie scoop or 3 Tbsp. equivalent spoon, scoop dough into 10 mounds in the pan. Place one mound in middle, then scoop 9 mounds of dough side by side all the way around the pan. Dip your fingertip into warm water and use to smooth out the tops of the rolls, continuing to wet fingers minimally as needed.
9. Cover with a dry towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. (If humid where you are, check at the 45 minute mark to see if they've risen enough.)
10. During the last few minutes that the rolls are rising, preheat oven to 400°F.
11. Bake in 400°F oven for 24-26 minutes. Tops should be golden brown and if you measure temperature of dough, it should measure 200°F. Pull out when rolls reach 200° even if less than time called for. Your oven might run hot. If you scoop your rolls smaller to get more than 10 rolls, then your rolls will bake faster, so check them earlier.
12. Remove from oven and place on cooling racks.
13. If desired, for shine, brush rolls with additional 1/2-1 Tablespoon of melted coconut oil.
14. Once cool, remove from pan onto serving plate or platter.

Icing:

1. Once the rolls are cool, beat together icing ingredients, adding Almond milk as needed until you have a thick icing that you can pipe on. Scoop into a decorating bag that is fitted with a skinny circle tip. Alternately, scoop into a Ziploc bag, seal, and snip off corner so you have a little hole to squeeze icing through.
2. Pipe crossed lines onto each cooled bun.
3. To serve, I recommend a quick 15 seconds in the microwave as it softens up the dense dough and really makes these perfect!