Easter Bunny Buns (a cute Easter treat)

My ten-year-old discovered the recipe for these cute little bunny rolls in a children’s magazine that our church publishes.  She literally was jumping and down with excitement about them and insisted that I make them for the blog as soon as possible.  My six-year-old chimed in that I would probably be the first person on my Facebook to make them.  After I stopped giggling at my kids’ remarkably effective tactics at getting me to make a fun recipe, I decided to go ahead and give them a try.   

Not too surprisingly, these were quite a hit….with the kids and the adults!  I loved the subtle orange flavoring of these rolls and  the glaze added just a touch of sweetness that made them all the more fun for the kids, but without overpowering them with too much sugar.  It was only on a whim that I decided to try to make the faces using a container of ice cream sprinkles, but since those rolls were the first ones that got gobbled up by my little ones, I definitely think that they’re worth the trouble to add ( on at least a few of them)!    

These cute little bunny buns (or should I call them “rabbit rolls”?) have just become a fun new Easter tradition at our house!
Recipe Source:  Friend Magazine

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara. 

The ingredients:

BUNNY BUNS:

1 Tbs. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup orange juice (I just used the juice from the oranges that I zested for the peel)
2 Tbs. grated orange peel (it took about 2 small/medium oranges)
5-1/2 cups flour ( I used half white, half white whole wheat)
Ice cream sprinkles (optional for making faces)

GLAZE:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs. hot water
2 Tbs. orange juice (or 2 more tablespoons hot water for a plain glaze)
1 tsp. butter

Directions:  In a medium sized bowl, combine the yeast and the warm water.  Set aside.  In another bowl, heat milk in microwave for about 1 minute 20 seconds or so.  Milk should be hot, but not boiling.  Blend hot milk with sugar, oil, and salt. (NOTE:  Before adding the next ingredients, make sure your milk mixture is  warm to the touch, but not too hot to leave your finger in for a few seconds (110-120 degrees is perfect)).   Then add eggs, yeast with water, orange juice, and orange peel.  Add flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough.  Knead for 5-10 minutes ( I let my Kitchen-Aid do the hard work for me).  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.  Cover bowl and place in a warm place.  Allow the dough to rise for 1-2 hours, or until double in size.  Punch dough down and let stand for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a long rectangle 1/2-inch thick.  Cut dough into strips 1/2-inch wide and 14-inches long.  

Roll the dough to make rounded snake shapes.  Reserve 1-2 of the strips to cut into pieces about 1/2-inch long and roll into small balls (for the tails). 


Place one long piece of dough on a greased cookie sheet.  Place one end of the strip over the other to make a loop; bring the end that is underneath up and cross it over the other end.  Place a ball of dough on top of the bottom loop (to be the tail). 

(NOTE:  If you would like to make faces, now is the time.  Make an egg wash with one egg white and one tablespoon of warm water.   Brush over the tops of the bunny buns.   Using a combination of sprinkles, raisins, or whatever,  make a little face at the base of the "ears".  Proceed as directed.)

Cover bunnies and allow to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, until nearly double in size.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  

(You can see that we made most of our bunny buns without faces.  They’re not quite as cute, but they were much easier to make and the kids loved them anyway!)

For the glaze, stir powdered sugar, water, orange juice, and butter together.  Frost bunnies with the glaze while still warm.  Makes about 20 bunny buns.  

Enjoy!