Easter Bunny Rolls
March 17, 2008 by Marye Audet
Filed under Breads, vintage recipes
Yes, these rolls look like bunnies! This vintage recipe is perfect for the kids table! Arrange these adorable bread bunnies in a basket and use as a centerpiece to keep the kids eating!
This recipe is from a 1959 vintage holiday cookbook. Look at that picture! LOL! You gotta love those Mrs Cleaver type moms that went the extra mile to make holidays special! These are really not difficult. Give them a try. You can easily make them ahead and freeze them until the big day.
1 package yeast
1/4 c water, lukewarm
1 c milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/2 c butter melted in the hot milk
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
5-5 1/2 c flour
2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
1/4 c orange juice, lukewarm
2 Tbs grated orange peel
Dissolve yeast in water.
Blend milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Make sure that the mixture is lukewarm. Stir in 2 cups of the flour.
Add eggs, beat well. Stir in yeast, orange juice, and peel. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a dough. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Knead dough 10 minutes, or until elastic, on a floured surface. Place in a greased bowl, turn to grease top, cover and allow to rise until double. About 2 hours.
Punch down, cover, and allow to rest 10 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Cut dough in strips about 1/2 inch wide and roll between hands to smooth.
You can make these into two kinds of bunnies.
For twist bunnies (the one in the center, looks like it is sitting upright):
For each bunny you will need a 14 inch strip of dough. On a lightly greased cookie sheet lap one end of the strip over the other to form a loop. Now, bring the end that is underneath up over the top end, letting each end extend to the sides to form ears. Pat tips of ears to make a point.
Roll a small ball of dough and put it on the bottom loop for a tail. Let rise until double.
For “Grazing” Bunnies :
For each bunny you will need a 10 inch piece of dough for the body and a 5 inch strip for the head.
On a lightly greased cookie sheet make a loose swirl for the body with the longer strip, and one for the head with the smaller strip. Place the head close to the body. To add the ears pinch off 1 1/2 inch strips of dough and roll to form ears. Place next to the head. Use a little bit of dough to make a small ball for the tail. Allow to double.
The second rise will take from 45-60 minutes. Bake at 375 for 12 -15 minutes. Frost while warm with sugar glaze. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.
Sugar Glaze
To 2 1/2 c confectioners sugar add 1/4 c hot water and 1 tsp butter. Stir until blended.
Use this to brush over warm rolls.
(c)2008 Marye Audet for b5 media Baking Delights http://bakingdelights.com
These are completely adorable!
I thought they were, Jen!
My mom and I made these every year for Easter. She has passed away and I have unable to find this recipe or cookbook. (I know it’s there somewhere!) Thanks to you, I am making these for our church’s Easter Brunch! They are fun and tasty, but don’t last long!
My wife makes a wonderful Easter Bunny roll with chives for the whiskers and dried cranberries for the whiskers. Don’t know the recipe though. Check out the link for an image of the scrumptious end product.
Garrie-those look awesome! She did a great job.
Love these bunnies. My mom made these for her children every Easter. I remember how great they were with the orange icing. I got the recipe from her today so that I can start baking them for my boys, I didn’t have a picture so searched the internet and found this one. I’ll keep you posted how they turn out. Thanks for the picture of the bunnies.
I look forward to hearing how they come out Lauren! Thanks for stopping by!
I have loved these Easter bunnies for years. I used to make them for my children when they were little. We moved to another state and never got the recipe from my Friend who I made them with. I was so happy when I found this recipe a couple days ago. I can’t wait to eat the bunnies.
I am glad I could help, LuAnn!
I was pointed to this site today and am so excited to learn the source for this recipe. We’ve been making these breads for decades – it’s not Easter without them! – and long wondered where they came from. We have photos of my hubby gnawing these breads as a baby, and all our kids.
We do use a slightly different glaze made with powdered sugar and orange juice, but that is the only difference. Yum.
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter and thanks for stopping by