Bunny Buns - Mindee W.

The kids and I saw these cute buns in this months issue of The Friend (April 2011).  We decided to give them a try last Sunday.  They do take some time and patience, but they were really yummy and fun to make!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
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 cup orange juice
2 Tb.grated orange peel
5 1/2 cups flower, sifted
Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup hot water, 1 tsp. butter.

1. Sprinkle yeast in warm water and set aside
2. In another bowl, blend milk, sugar, shortening, and salt.  Cool until lukewarm, then add eggs, water with yeast, orange juice, and orange peel.
3. Stir in flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough.  Let stand for 10 minutes.
4. 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 and put in a warm place.  Let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.  Punch down and let stand for 10 minutes.
5. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle 1/2 thick.  Cut dough into strips 1/2 inch wide and 14 inches long.  Roll between hands into rounded snake shapes.  Cut one of the strips into pieces 1/2 inch long, and roll into balls (for tails).
6. 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.
7. Cover bunnies and let raise in warm place for 45-60 minutes, until nearly double in size.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
8.  For the glaze, stir powdered sugar, water, and butter together.  Frost bunnies with the glaze while still warm.

* Changes:  I did a thicker vanilla frosting instead of the glaze and added decorations to make bunny faces.  I did mini choc. chips for the eyes, jelly bean decors for the nose and chocolate jimmies for the whiskers. This recipe made about 23 buns for us.