Bunny Buns

Another wonderful day full of love, instruction, and revelation from our church leaders!  I'm loving this Spiritual high that I'm on.  My kids are being good, and (knock on wood) I have stayed away for each session and am soaking it up!

Did you see the "Kitchen Crafts" section in the April Friend?

Tanner and Taylor did, so they showed me the recipe for a fun treat that we decided (last week) to make for Conference; Bunny Buns!

I'll admit, I was excited to try something new and fun, but wow.  These sure where more time consuming than I had bargained for, but they were worth it!!!  I intended them to be for breakfast, but we had them mid-session Sunday morning.

Can you see the bunnies?

I think I'll make them again, and make sure I have ALL ingredients, for Easter Sunday.  We had to fudge a little on what was REALLY in them this go around.

Recipe & Instructions for Bunny Buns:

 (This recipe was first printed in the  Friend in 1980.) 

1 package active dry yeast (I used 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast)
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk, warmed not quite to boiling
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 orange juice (this is where I used pineapple juice, because I already had a can open, so I just drained some juice off the fruit...next time I'll use orange juice ;)  )
2 Tbsp grated orange peel (didn't have any...but sounded SO good!)
5 1/2 cups of flour, sifted (I didn't sift and it turned out okay.)
Glaze:  2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 tsp butter (I did something like this...yeah.)

1.  Wash hands with soap and water.
2.  Sprinkle yeast in the warm water and set aside.
3.  In another bowl, blend milk, sugar, shortening, and salt.  Cool until lukewarm, then add eggs, water with yeast, orange juice, and orange peel.  (I found it was easier to use a wire whisk for this...up until the last two cups of flour, obviously.)
4.  Stir in flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough.  Let stand for 10 minutes.
5.  Knead dough 5-10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic.  Place it in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.  cover bowl with a clean towel and put it in a warm place.  Let dough rise for 2 hours, or until double in size.  (it took about 2 hours!!!) Punch dough down and let stand for 10 minutes.
6.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick.  Cut dough (using a pizza cutter) into strips 1/2 inch wide and 14 inches long.  roll between hands into rounded snake shapes. (I skipped the rolling.) Cut one strip into pieces 1/2 inch long, and roll into balls.
7.  Place one long piece of dough on a greased cookie sheet.  Place one end of the stip 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.
8.  Cover bunnies and let rise in a wamr place for 45-60 minutes, until nearly double in size.  Bake at 357ºF for 12-15 minutes.
9.  For the glaze, stir powdered sugar, water, and butter together.  Frost bunnies with the glaze while they are still warm.

They were a hit!!!  Ryan even ate his.  We're taking the rest of the tray to Grandma & Grandma Poulsen's for Sunday Dinner after Conference.

Here's to new traditions!