Honey Bunnies

 Easter is one of my favorite holidays, my family never celebrated in the religious sense, but as a time for us to spend time together while enjoying food and each others company. Not to mention Easter baskets and egg dyeing. At this point my sister and I have a running tradition of  'whose eggs are the most awesome' which she usually loses. I'm dyeing eggs later tonight, so check back later for some pictures and ideas if you haven't dyed eggs yet.

 Pretty much every year the week before or around Easter my mom would make a batch of honey bunnies, they're just your typical honey bun except a lot fluffier and buttery. The dough itself has honey in it, and then you coat them with a butter/honey glaze giving them the perfect amount of sweetness. Yum.

C, and I are heading out to Breckenridge Saturday night in order to spend Easter snowboarding. Since we weren't sure if anyone at the house we're staying at in Breckenridge had plans to celebrate Easter, we decided to have our own early Easter dinner on Saturday before we leave. I still thought it would be a good idea to celebrate a little bit on Sunday so I'm making the honey bunny dough Saturday morning to bring with us. I personally can't wait to wake up a little earlier and pop these in the oven and get to eat 1 or 4 before going out to ride the mountains all day, and I'm sure all of the housemates will enjoy them too. I'm attaching the recipe after the break, enjoy!




Makes 15 bunnies.

4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
2 envelopes Fleischmann's® Active Dry OR RapidRise Yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey 
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 eggs
Raisins
Honey Glaze (recipe follows)

(recipe from Fleischmann's Yeast)

Directions

In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat evaporated milk, water, honey, and butter until warm (100 to 110^oF). Gradually add to flour mixture; beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. With spoon, stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Place in greased bowl. Grease top; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

Remove dough from refrigerator; punch down. Remove to floured surface. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces. Roll each to 20-inch rope. Divide each rope into 1 (12-inch), 1 (5-inch), and 3 (1-inch) strips. Coil 12-inch strip to make body; coil 5-inch strip to make head. Attach head to body; pinch to seal. Shape remaining 3 strips into ears and tail and attach to body and head. Place on 2 large greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 20 to 40 minutes.

Bake at 375^oF for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from sheets to wire racks. Brush with Honey Glaze while warm. Insert raisins for eyes. If desired, brush again with glaze before serving.

Honey Glaze: Combine 1/2 cup honey and 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally.

Nutritional Information:

Per Serving:

Serving size: 1 bunny (3.5 ounces)

Calories 320; Total fat 11g; Saturated fat 6g;

Cholesterol 55 mg; Sodium 270 mg; Carbohydrates 50 g; Dietary fiber 1g; Sugars 20 g; Protein 6g

 Easter is one of my favorite holidays, my family never celebrated in the religious sense, but as a time for us to spend time together while enjoying food and each others company. Not to mention Easter baskets and egg dyeing. At this point my sister and I have a running tradition of  'whose eggs are the most awesome' which she usually loses. I'm dyeing eggs later tonight, so check back later for some pictures and ideas if you haven't dyed eggs yet.

 Pretty much every year the week before or around Easter my mom would make a batch of honey bunnies, they're just your typical honey bun except a lot fluffier and buttery. The dough itself has honey in it, and then you coat them with a butter/honey glaze giving them the perfect amount of sweetness. Yum.

C, and I are heading out to Breckenridge Saturday night in order to spend Easter snowboarding. Since we weren't sure if anyone at the house we're staying at in Breckenridge had plans to celebrate Easter, we decided to have our own early Easter dinner on Saturday before we leave. I still thought it would be a good idea to celebrate a little bit on Sunday so I'm making the honey bunny dough Saturday morning to bring with us. I personally can't wait to wake up a little earlier and pop these in the oven and get to eat 1 or 4 before going out to ride the mountains all day, and I'm sure all of the housemates will enjoy them too. I'm attaching the recipe after the break, enjoy!




Makes 15 bunnies.

4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
2 envelopes Fleischmann's® Active Dry OR RapidRise Yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey 
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 eggs
Raisins
Honey Glaze (recipe follows)

(recipe from Fleischmann's Yeast)

Directions

In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat evaporated milk, water, honey, and butter until warm (100 to 110^oF). Gradually add to flour mixture; beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. With spoon, stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Place in greased bowl. Grease top; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

Remove dough from refrigerator; punch down. Remove to floured surface. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces. Roll each to 20-inch rope. Divide each rope into 1 (12-inch), 1 (5-inch), and 3 (1-inch) strips. Coil 12-inch strip to make body; coil 5-inch strip to make head. Attach head to body; pinch to seal. Shape remaining 3 strips into ears and tail and attach to body and head. Place on 2 large greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 20 to 40 minutes.

Bake at 375^oF for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from sheets to wire racks. Brush with Honey Glaze while warm. Insert raisins for eyes. If desired, brush again with glaze before serving.

Honey Glaze: Combine 1/2 cup honey and 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally.

Nutritional Information:

Per Serving:

Serving size: 1 bunny (3.5 ounces)

Calories 320; Total fat 11g; Saturated fat 6g;

Cholesterol 55 mg; Sodium 270 mg; Carbohydrates 50 g; Dietary fiber 1g; Sugars 20 g; Protein 6g