I just adore Easter…because it means that Springtime is here and the weather is finally warming up! It also means (like most holidays) plenty of delicious food! :-) I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try and serve on special days. Since any recipe with lemon as an ingredient is bound to catch my eye, when I saw these lemon brioche bread bunnies from BHG, I just had to give them a try!
They have the perfect hint of lemon with a perfect fluffy consistency, and are too cute for words! It wasn’t the easiest dough to make, but they came out perfectly. Just keep in mind that you have to make the dough the night before.
These little bunnies would make the perfect addition to your Easter Sunday brunch!
Ingredients:
- 2 packets (1/2 ounce) dry active yeast
- 1/3 cup warm milk (around 110 degrees F.)
- 1/3 cup warm water (around 110 degrees F.)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 4 eggs (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- 1 cup butter (room temperature)
Place the yeast, water and milk in your mixer bowl and allow the yeast to soften for about 10 minutes. Add the salt and flour, attach the dough hook, and mix on medium-low for about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low while you separate 1 of the 4 eggs. Add the yolk, the remaining 3 eggs, the sugar, the lemon zest and increase the speed to medium for 3 minutes. Refrigerate the unused egg white for later.
Now reduce the speed to low and add the butter – just 2 tablespoons at a time! Wait for the butter to combine before adding more. The dough will start to soften as you add butter.
Now increase the speed to medium-high and mix for about 10 minutes until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm place until it doubles in size – about an hour. After the dough has risen, slide a rubber spatula between the dough and bottom of the bowl (the dough will deflate a bit.) Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 12-24 hours. It will continue to rise in the fridge a little bit.
Take the cold dough from the fridge, and pat it into a 6 inch by 12 inch rectangle. The more even you make the dough, the easier it will be to shape the bunnies later; but it doesn’t have to be perfect!
Using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 18 squares.
Tear a small amount of dough off of each square, roll it into a ball, and shape the remaining square into an oval. Ideally, the ovals will be 3 inches tall and 2 inches wide. You should have 18 ovals and 18 dough balls, for the bunny noses!
Using a pair of scissors, cut a slit on the top of the oval, about halfway through.
Pinch the center of the bunny, right at the base of the slit. Pull the ears apart a little bit, flatten the dough, and shape a nice round face.
Make a small divot for the nose with your finger, moisten it with a tiny bit of water, and stick on the noses. Now let the bunnies rise for 30-40 minutes. Place them in a 375 degree oven for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
The bread is fluffy, delicious, and has a subtle lemon flavor that is heaven in your mouth! These cute little guys are definitely making an appearance next year too!
What’s your favorite Easter treat?
LEMON EASTER BUNNY BUNS
Ingredients
- 1/2 ounce packets 1/2 ounce dry active yeast
- 1/3 cup milk around 110 degrees F.
- 1/3 cup water around 110 degrees F.
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest grated
- 1 cup butter room temperature
Instructions
- Place the yeast, water, and milk in your mixer bowl and allow the yeast to soften for about 10 minutes.
- Add the salt and flour, attach the dough hook, and mix on medium-low for about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the speed to low while you separate 1 of the 4 eggs. Add the yolk, the remaining 3 eggs, the sugar, the lemon zest and increase the speed to medium for 3 minutes. Refrigerate the unused egg white for later. Refrigerate the unused egg white for later.
- Now reduce the speed to low and add the butter - just 2 tablespoons at a time. Wait for the butter to combine before adding more.
- Now increase the speed to medium-high and mix for about 10 minutes until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
- Set the bowl in a warm place until it doubles in size - about an hour.
- After the dough has risen, slide a rubber spatula between the dough and bottom of the bowl (the dough will deflate a bit).
- Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 12-24 hours. It will continue to rise in the fridge a little bit.
- Take the cold dough from the fridge, and pat it into a 6 inch by 12-inch rectangle.
- Using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 18 squares.
- Tear a small amount of dough off of each square, roll it into a ball, and shape the remaining square into an oval.
- Using a pair of scissors, cut a slit on the top of the oval, about halfway through.
- Pinch the center of the bunny, right at the base of the slit. Pull the ears apart a little bit, flatten the dough, and shape a nice round face.
- Make a small divot for the nose with your finger, moisten it with a tiny bit of water, and stick on the noses. Now let the bunnies rise for 30-40 minutes. Place them in a 375 degree oven for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
