honey bunnies

Melt the butter and allow to briefly cool. Heat the milk so that it is luke warm. Stir the yeast and the sugar into the milk, and allow to proof for 5 minutes, or until it begins to become foamy. Place the flour into a large bowl and create a well in the middle. Pour the proofed milk into the well. Using the dough hooks of an electric mixer, mix in the butter, honey, egg, egg yolk, and salt. Continue mixing with the dough hooks until the dough comes away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball. If the dough appears too sticky gradually add more flour tablespoonful at a time until the dough is elastic and smooth. Transfer the dough to a well floured surface and knead for ca. 5 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for ca. 1 hour, or until the volume has doubled in size.

Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Punch down the dough and knead for another 5 minutes. Separate the dough into 12-14 equally sized portions. Roll the first portion into a thin log (ca. 20cm long). Cut off a small part of the log, and roll into a ball to create the rabbit tail. Form your log into a "U" and twist the ends around each other, leaving a gap for the tail. Seperate the ends to create ears, and place the tail in the hole. Place the honey bunny on a baking sheet, and form the rest of the rabbits using the same technique. Cover the bunnies losely with plastic wrap, and leave to rise for ca. 30-60 minutes. 

Preheat the oven (electric:175°C / circulated air 155°C). Bake the trays one after another for ca. 15-20 minutes, or until they have become light brown. When the first tray is baking, mix together the honey and butter for the glaze. Remove the honey bunnies from the oven and brush immediately with the honey butter. Leave the bunnies to cool briefly on the baking sheets, before transferring to a wire rack and cooling. 

The honey bunnies taste great warm out of the oven served with the extra honey butter.