Sweet Christmas Buns

Christmas is a time for warmth, joy, and the irresistible aroma of fresh-baked treats wafting through the air. These sweet Christmas buns are a festive favourite, combining soft, fluffy dough with the rich, spiced flavours of the season. Whether you enjoy them warmed or as they come, these buns are perfect for sharing around the table on a cold winter morning. With hints of cinnamon, mixed spice, and a touch of marzipan, every bite feels like a cozy hug on a chilly winter’s day.

These sweet Christmas buns are a great way to use up left overs from Christmas bakes. I had some marzipan left over from the Christmas cake and half a large jar of mincemeat left from making mince pies. Despite how it actually sounds, Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped apples and dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices that is usually used as a pie or pastry filling. It can contain meat but usually doesn’t anymore although check the ingredients if you want a vegetarian mincemeat as some contain suet which usually is not vegetarian.

I love to make cinnamon rolls and adapt them for all seasons. These sweet Christmas buns are an adaptation of cinnamon rolls with all the spices and flavours of Christmas. They will fill your home with the delicious smells of Christmas and really make you feel festive. So light some Christmas lights, get some festive songs playing and gather all your ingredients.

If you are looking for more festive recipes why not try my After Eight cake or my orange and cranberry cake.

Sweet Christmas Buns
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Sweet Christmas Buns

Difficulty: Medium
Servings

12

servings
Prep time

3

hours 
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

3

hours 

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • 250ml Milk

  • 50g Unsalted Butter

  • 450g Strong White Bread Flour

  • 1 Egg

  • 1 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp Mixed Spice

  • Sunflower Oil for Greasing

  • 300g Mincemeat

  • Marzipan

  • 100g Icing Sugar

Directions

  • Heat the milk in a pan until steaming. Remove from the pan, add the butter and leave to cool slightly and allow the butter to melt.
  • Put the flour, yeast, sugar, spices and 1 tsp salt into  a mixing bowl and combine. Make a well in the centre and add the milk mixture and the egg. Mix well. Use a dough hook on a mixer or tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes. Tip into a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Leave to double in size for around 1 hour.
  • Tip the dough onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle 45 x 40 cm with the longest edge facing you . Spread the mincemeat over the dough and add any other left overs you have. I squashed balls of marzipan and scattered them over the mincemeat.
  • Roll up carefully and cut off the ends to neaten up. Slice into 8 pieces and place on a lined baking tray. Don’t put them too close to each other as they will rise more. Put them about a centimetre apart and they should join up in the oven. Cover and leave again for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200/180ºc fan.
  • Uncover and put in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool before mixing the the icing sugar with water (you can use lemon juice if you like) and drizzling over the buns.

Sweet Christmas Buns Pinterest