These adorable cinnamon roll bunnies are the cutest spring dessert! Soft, fluffy sourdough rolls filled with brown sugar and cinnamon then topped with frosting. Decorate them with flowers, berries, icing, or sprinkles! Learn all about how to make them in this post!
Sourdough vs Yeast or Pre-made Cinnamon Roll Dough
Let’s just say you definitely have options with this recipe! The goal is a cute bunny shaped cinnamon roll and you can achieve this with a variety of different dough options. If you hang out here often you know I am team sourdough all the way!
The flavor and texture of a homemade sourdough cinnamon roll is just unbeatable! If you do not do sourdough but you want to make these rolls you can go check out our dehydrated sourdough kits over in the shop. Re-hydrate your starter and activate it in just four to five days. You can start making these rolls, sourdough bread, and so much more in less than a week!
We have recipes for homemade sourdough and yeast rolls here on the blog! You can also use pre-made dough and follow the shaping instructions below.
Decorating Your Cinnamon Roll Bunnies
There are TONS of super cute ways to decorate these cinnamon roll bunnies! Keep it super simple by adding icing or cutesie it up by adding flowers, candy flowers, berries, icing bunny tails or even faces.
I loved the look of the candy flowers used as decoration but I have young children so I am not a fan of the dyes as well as the choking factor. You could probably find some that use natural dye. However, since I’m feeling extra “springy” I decided to involve my toddlers in hunting for real flowers outside to decorate our bunnies.
We removed the flowers before eating but it was a very fun way to get the toddlers involved!
We also did fruit which was a super fun and edible way to decorate them. I simply cut off the tips of some strawberries and blackberries then added them to one side of the bunny ears. The kids loved eating them this way!
Ingredients for Homemade Cinnamon Roll Bunnies
The ingredients need to make these bunnies homemade are simple and the instructions are easy to follow! You need…
- ½ cup sourdough starter or 2 tsp active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm milk or water
- ¼ cup butter (½ stick)
- ¼ cup honey or cane sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-2½ cups all-purpose flour
For the filling…
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter (½ stick)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
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Substitutions for Cinnamon Roll Bunnies
Sugar. You can make these with natural sugar using the same amounts honey or maple syrup.
Brown Sugar. Make them with natural sugar using equal amounts brown coconut sugar.
Milk. Adding milk to starter or yeast makes these rolls extra fluffy. However, you can use equal amounts of warm water instead with very similar and delicious results.
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Cinnamon Roll Bunnies
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- ½ cup sourdough starter or 2 tsp active dry yeast
- ½ cup warm milk or water
- ¼ cup butter ½ stick
- ¼ cup honey or cane sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-2½ cups all-purpose flour
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Make the roll dough by combining sourdough starter or yeast and warm milk in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Allow to dissolve then add melted butter, sugar, and one egg. Mix well.
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt then add 1 cup of the mixture to the roll dough. Add ½ cup of flour at a time until the dough is firm and slightly sticky. Cover the dough with a damp tea or kitchen towel and allow to ferment in the refrigerator for about 8 hours (or overnight) if using sourdough starter. If you are using yeast allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.
- Make filling by combining softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a mixing bowl.
- After the dough has fermented or risen (if using yeast), roll out on a well floured surface in the shape of a rectangle with dough at about ¼ inch thickness.
- Rub filling all over the surface of the dough using hands to make sure it covers the surface completely.
- Cut the dough into about eight 1 inch strips using a pizza cutter.
- Roll using a flat, metal spatula or bench scraper then flip onto the spatula to move easily. Unroll about 5-6 inches of the dough and turn them into bunny ears by shaping them into and "M" at the top of the roll.
- Bake at 350℉ for about 12-15 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely then decorate your bunnies! (See post section above with tips for how to decorate.)
