Clam Bunnies

Baby inspired a twist on hot clam buns that has to be shared.

Yum, aren't they cute!

When we told her we were making bunnies for dinner, she immediately thought of chocolate bunnies. I thought that adding tails and ears would make them more appealing to her, especially since she has been a very fussy eater lately.

Clam Bunnies

Bread dough (recipe below, or use your favorite recipe)
50 ounce can of chopped clams, drained (about 3 cups of clam meat.)
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup mayonnaise (I have also used other binders such as softened cream cheese)
Salt to taste (Recipe calls for 1 tsp, but if the clams are especially salty, it can be too much.)
1/8 tsp. pepper

Mix all filling ingredients. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and generously butter two large cookie sheets.

The filling. You should have a large full bowl. I took this picture when I was over half finished.

Take a generous handful of bread dough and flatten it out into a rectangle.

Heap the filling in the center. I used two large spoons full--about half a cup.

Fold the sides in first, and then fold the ends over (when flipped over, they will look sort of like feet.) Gently mush one end a little narrower than the other to form the head as you flip it over onto the prepared cookie sheet.

Take bits of dough and add on tails, ears, and eyes.

We let the girls go a little crazy with the decorations on some. This one has hair and a big smile.

Baby tried to put fur on the back of one, and poked it so many times that it had no back by the time it was finished baking.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 – 35 minutes, until nicely browned and firm to the touch. Swap pans positions half way through to help them brown evenly. Bake as long as you can without getting too browned, as the filling requires longer to cook than the bread.

Here they are, browned and ready. The filling always leaks out of some of mine.

I had fewer leaks this time, as I rolled the dough a little thicker. This one had no holes.

Remove to a rack immediately and let them cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with a salad or other vegetable.

Here is my bread dough recipe:

4 T. unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups hot water or warmed milk. I used water this time.
a generous splash of heavy cream (Optional if using water instead of milk.)
Mix until it is cool enough to not kill the yeast.
Add 3 T. yeast.
Stir and let rest 5 minutes.
Add 5 cups of flour and mix with dough hook or by hand.
Add 1 tsp. salt and slowly add 1-2 more cups of flour until bread reaches the right consistency.
Knead with bread hook 8 minutes or until smooth and glossy.
Let rest covered 25 minutes in a warm place.
Punch down and begin making rolls.

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