These Easter Bunny Rolls are so easy to make and perfect for brunch or dinner! Made from fool-proof homemade yeast dough, these cute bunny-shaped rolls are buttery, fluffy, and so cute with their salty tails.
Easter is only one month away! Why not make some cute little bunny-shaped rolls for your next brunch? They make a great addition to every get-together and are super easy to make.
These easter bunny rolls are made with homemade yeast dough but if you’re in a hurry you could also use store-bought dough. Making these bunnies is a perfect way to upgrade not-homemade dough!
But yeast dough is really easy to make from scratch, not like puff pastry which needs much more work and attention. I love working with yeast dough because it’s so versatile and the baked goods are always fluffy!
HOW TO MAKE EASTER BUNNY ROLLS
To make these rolls you need a stand mixer to knead the dough (or use your hands for a little workout) and a little bit of patience. The yeast dough needs to rise for about 1 to 2 hours until it has doubled in size. That’s really important, the yeast needs time to do its work otherwise your rolls will taste like yeast.
When you shape the bunny rolls make sure to press down the overlapping ear to prevent it from rising too high during baking. To sprinkle the tails you can also use coarse sugar instead of coarse sea salt if you are aiming for a sweeter bread.
These Easter Bunny Dinner Breadsticks are fluffy, buttery and so simple to make. And if it’s not the right time of the year for Bunnies then you could just make normal breadsticks from the dough!
SOME MORE EASTER RECIPES YOU’LL ENJOY!
I have a lot of recipes to choose from if you want to take a look at my recipe index, but here are a few of my recent recipes.
These Brown Butter Maple Glazed Roasted Rainbow Carrots are the easiest side dish ever and are great for Easter Dinner or any other holiday meal! My Easy Carrot Cake Recipe makes a great spring dessert and because it’s made in a sheet pan you can feed a crowd with it.
And if you want something different then a carrot cake you need to check out these Raspberry Lemon Curd Cupcakes or my No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake!
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Easter Bunny Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp Instant dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 2 tbsp softened butter
Instructions
- Pour warm (not hot!) water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add yeast, sugar, salt, oil, and flour.
- Knead on low-medium speed for about 4 minutes, until a smooth dough forms. The dough should be thick, yet soft and only slightly sticky. When it pulls away from the sides of the bowl it's ready.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn the dough over to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm environment to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Once doubled in size, punch the dough down to release any air bubbles. Remove dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat or lightly grease the cookie sheet.
- Roll each ball of dough into a rope about 14 inches long. Cut a 1/2-inch piece off the end, and roll into a ball for the tail. Fold the dough rope in half, and loosely twist twice to form the body of the bunny. Place on cookie sheet and press down the overlapping ear a little bit to prevent it from rising too high. To make the bunny tail press ball of dough into folded end of the twist. Repeat with remaining dough to make 6 bunnies. Let the bunnies rise for 5-10 minutes.
- Brush the tails with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Bake the bunnies for 23-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the edges look cooked. Remove the rolls from the oven when they are done and brush butter onto each warm bunny.
Amy says
You say add salt! But, that is 1 tablespoon of salt!! I am assuming that is not what you meant.
How much salt am I suppose to add?
Julia says
If you read the ingredients list it says 1 tsp salt. The 1 Tbsp is for the tails.
Lynn fontaine says
Mine untwisted while baking
How do I prevent this?
I’m going to try them again😊
janet morrissette says
i think ill frost them a bit with powdered sugar frosting, instead of using the salt..mayb even color the frosting in batches of light easter colors
Pam says
This is a very good and easy dough to work with. I made a batch for practice. They’re really good size. For Easter, I will be making them a bit smaller the day before, then I will refrigerate them until I’m ready to bake for Easter dinner. I’m a newbie with yeast so wish me luck!!
Karith M Gingrow says
When is the butter added?
Julia says
You brush the bunnies with butter after they come out of the oven.
Karith M Gingrow says
Lol, just read that. thanks!
Joanne says
In a pinch, could these be made with pillsbury buttermilk biscuits. The ones that are in a can. I use these to make garlic knots.
Jessica Cutler says
Can I use this recipe with a bread machine on the dough setting ?
Julia says
Unfortunately, I don’t own a bread machine so I don’t know if it will work.
Laura says
I don’t have a stand mixer can these be made by hand or reg mixer
Julia says
You can also use a hand mixer with dough hooks or knead by hand. It might take a little bit longer to get the dough smooth and elastic but it works too.
Olja says
I made these with my 6 year old son, we had tones of fun and ever body loved these litte bunnies!
I shall make them for kindergarten this Easter!
Thank you!
Jenny from jennyisbaking.com says
Hi Julia, made them yesterday for today’s Easter breakfast. They were a huge hit. I like them for several reasons:
1. Prepared in about 5-10 minutes
2. Only one rise
3.Can easily be shaped as desired
Thank you so much!
PS: Next time I will make 8 bunnies, 6 are rather large
Jen says
So after kneading with the stand mixer -step #2-do you then knead it again by hand? Because the last sentence in step 2 says “…it’s ready to knead”
Julia says
Hi Jen, thanks for finding my little mistake! I edited the recipe. No need to knead it again by hand, just knead it in your stand mixer for about 3-4 minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Happy Easter!
Carleen says
Step 2 says “when it pulls away….it’s ready to knead”. But the next step is rising. How much more kneading is required after step 2? Thank you.
Julia says
Hi Carleen, thanks for finding my mistake! I edited the recipe. No need to knead it again by hand, just knead it in your stand mixer for about 3-4 minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Happy Easter!
Desiree Campbell says
These look delicious… Sharing on Facebook and Pinning!
YUM!
Melanie @ Gather for Bread says
These are too stinken cute! Pinned.
Susan Conley @ Cookthestone says
look at this bread!!! just too cute to eat!!!!
Julia says
Thank you, Susan!
Michelle says
How far ahead of time can these be made?
Julia says
Hi Michelle, as with all homemade bread, it is best served on the day it’s made. I store leftover bunnies in a ziploc bag and reheat them the next day on top of the toaster (15 seconds in the microwave work too). But the bunnies taste best on the day they’re made. I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions! – Julia
Cristy says
These look super cute, is there any way to make these the day before and only half bake them, freeze them and bake the whole way the following day? I’d like to make them the day before but not sure if they will be as good baked the day before.
Julia says
Hi Cristy, they definitely taste best on the day they’re baked. I haven’t tried freezing them but I probably would bake them the whole way, brush with butter, let them cool, and then freeze them. Defrost them on the day you want to serve them and reheat for a few minutes in a 325°F oven. You might need to cover them with foil to avoid the surface getting too crisp. Another way that would probably work is to shape the bunnies, cover with cling wrap, refrigerate them for 4-24 hours and then bake them. – Julia
Anne says
I love the bunny rolls, so cute!
Julia says
Thanks, Anne :-)
Andrea Wyckoff says
These bunny rolls are so cute! I can see them being a perfect addition to an Easter dinner!
Julia says
Thank you, Andrea!
Ahu @ Ahu Eats says
How cute, these look fun and tasty! I’ve never seen vegan butter before, I’m going to keep my eyes out for it.