Rabbit-Shaped Bread Rolls (Coelhinho)

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and reserve

Mix the scalded milk, all-purpose flour, butter or margarine, and salt in a separate bowl

Let it cool down slightly

Add 2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix well

Mix in the eggs, then add the dissolved yeast

Add the orange juice and grated orange peel and continue adding flour until you get a smooth dough

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 7 minutes until it becomes elastic and smooth

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise for 2 hours

Roll out the dough, cover it again, and let it rest for 10 minutes

Open the dough, shape into a rectangular form about 1 cm thick

Cut into strips of 1 cm width

Roll up each strip between your hands to smooth out

Now you will need to assemble the rabbit-shaped bread rolls (Coelhinhos)

Each Coelhinho needs one strip of dough for the body, about 25 cm long, and another strip for the head, about 12 cm long

On a lightly greased baking sheet, roll out the dough for the body in a spiral shape without pulling too much on the dough

Roll out the dough for the head as well and place it next to the body dough

Shape two long rolls, place them next to the head, cut off the ends to form ears

Make a small ball of dough for the tail

Let it rise for 1 hour before baking

Bake in a moderate oven for about 12 minutes

Glace with icing while still warm

This recipe makes about 30 Coelhinhos.