Bunny Buns

Since Sunday, two of my friends have had three baby girls!  Yes, one of them had twins.  It's an exciting time for my group of friends right now as these are the first babies born of many due this year (myself included).  These precious new lives are just so exciting!

Spring seems to be the time of year that we all are thinking about new life.  When I took Champ outside this morning, I heard the sounds of spring--robins!  Flowers are starting to poke through the dirt (and some snow) in our yard.  Now, if only it could warm up a bit so it would feel like spring instead of just looking like it.

These bunny buns are the perfect spring bread, and they will make an excellent addition to your Easter dinner.  I made these this past weekend, as we had a pre-Easter dinner with Mike's family.  These buns were fun to make, and I was really impressed with how soft the dough was.  They require a minimal amount of rising time, and from start to finish, can be made in less than an hour!

Bunny Buns

Makes 14 buns

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

1 heaping Tablespoon yeast

5-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 cup butter, melted

1.  Pour milk into a small microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute, until warm.

2.  Sprinkle the yeast on the warm milk and set it aside to proof while you mix the other ingredients.

3.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

4.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

5.  Pour the milk and yeast mixer into the dough and mix using the dough attachment until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

6.  Divide the dough into 15 equal sized pieces.

7.  Roll each piece of dough into a long rope (like you're making pretzels).  Set aside 1 strip to use for the bunny tails.

8.  Form a bunny with each piece of dough by twisting the top of the dough together and leaving a "keyhole" at the bottom.  (See {cell phone} pictures below)

9.  Divide the reserved dough strip into 14 equal pieces and roll them into balls to use for the bunny tails.  Place the tails in the opening at the bottom of the buns. 

10.  Cover the bunnies with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

11.  Remove the plastic wrap and bake the buns at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown.

12.  Brush the hot rolls with melted butter after removing from the oven    

 

 

Source: Cooking with K

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