These fruit-laden muffins smell exactly like hot cross buns as they bake and taste just as satisfying, but with a fraction of the effort.

　　This recipe was excerpted from 'Anna Olson's Baking Wisdom' by Anna Olson. Buy the full book on Amazon.

　　

Ingredients

12 jumbo muffins (tulip cups) or 24 regular muffins

　　

For the muffins

2½ cups (375 g) all-purpose flour

　　2 tsp. baking powder

　　1¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

　　½ tsp. baking soda

　　½ tsp. ground allspice

　　½ tsp. ground nutmeg

　　½ tsp. ground cloves

　　¼ tsp. fine salt

　　1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

　　1 cup (250 ml) 2% milk

　　⅔ cup (160 ml) vegetable oil

　　2 large eggs

　　2 Tbsp. (37 g) honey

　　Zest of 1 lemon

　　1 Tbsp. (15 ml) fresh lemon juice

　　1½ cups (225 g) raisins or 1½ cups (240 g) currants

　　½ cup (70 g) dried cranberries

　　¼ cup (37 g) diced candied orange peel

　　

For the glaze

1½ cups (200 g) icing sugar

　　1½ Tbsp. (22 ml) water

　　½ tsp. meringue powder (optional)

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup jumbo muffin tin with extra-large paper liners (tulip cups) or line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with regular paper liners.

　　

Step 2

Combine the dry ingredients. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large mixing bowl.

　　

Step 3

Combine the liquids. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, milk, oil, eggs, honey, lemon zest and juice together. Add all at once to the flour and whisk until well combined. Stir in the raisins (or currants), cranberries and candied peel. (If you are not fond of candied peel, replace that measurement with extra raisins or cranberries.)

　　

Step 4

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.

　　

Step 5

Bake the muffins for 30 minutes for the extra-large muffins or 20 to 25 minutes for the regular-sized ones. Cool the muffins in their tins on a rack for 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.

　　

Step 6

Make the glaze. Whisk the icing sugar, water and meringue powder, if using, until smooth and the proper consistency for piping. To test the glaze, drizzle a little on a plate. If it spreads too much, add a little more icing sugar and whisk to combine. If it is too thick, loosen with a few droplets of water and whisk again. Spoon the glaze into a parchment paper cone and pipe a cross on the top of each muffin. Let the glaze set for an hour before serving. The muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

　　Cook's note:

　　The meringue powder helps the glaze set. If you make the glaze without it, let the muffins air-dry for an extra hour before storing them. And to make the muffins less seasonally specific, you can leave the crosses off or simply drizzle the glaze on top.

　　Reprinted with permission from Anna Olson's Baking Wisdom by Anna Olson, copyright © 2023. Published by Appetite by Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Buy the full book from Amazon or Penguin Random House.