Rabbit meat is famous for its dietary properties. Due to its high protein content, low fat content and “bad” cholesterol, rabbit meat surpasses pork, beef and even lamb in its properties. In numbers, this is even more clear: beef proteins are absorbed by 62%, and rabbit meat by 90%. This dietary meat is rich in vitamin PP, calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. The last element is especially important for a growing organism, and many children intuitively love rabbit meat. In addition to its energy benefits and dietary properties, rabbit meat is very tasty and easy to prepare.

It is interesting that hare meat (like rabbit meat) was not eaten in Rus' until the reforms of Patriarch Nikon. The beast was considered unclean, and Old Believers still adhere to these traditions. Even Jews do not eat rabbit meat. On the contrary, in Asia and Western Europe, rabbits have always been eaten, prepared in a variety of ways.

How to cook a rabbit? Let's consider the basic preparation scheme and the sequence of actions at each stage. It should be noted that not all parts of a rabbit carcass are equal. For example, the back part is better for frying, while the front part is better for boiling and stewing. The fatty parts can be baked.

Cutting

So, how to cook rabbit? The rabbit has been purchased, you have warmed it to room temperature, washed it and are ready for further action. Is it possible to bake the whole thing? It's possible, but it's not as tasty as a whole duck or goose. The rabbit will turn out better in parts, and it will be easier to cook. It should be divided into two parts (upper and lower) at the last lumbar vertebra. The powerful hind legs will go to the bottom, and everything else will go to the top. These groups can be prepared separately, together, or combined at the end into a whole dish. Each part (top and bottom) should be cut into small pieces. Cut the hind legs at the joints, leave the front legs whole. Divide the chest along with the spine into 3-4 parts. You can cut the meat from the belly and cut it into small (5 by 5 cm) pieces.

Pickling

The rabbit must be marinated. This will make it softer, more aromatic and tastier. Without the marinade, it will be a little tougher, and with an honest rabbit smell. Whoever likes it. An alternative to pickling is soaking in water. This simple operation will improve the properties of the meat and remove the smell. Soaking time is from 1 to 3 hours. You can add a little vinegar (wine or apple cider vinegar) to the water, but this is not necessary. Water makes rabbit meat less tough and reduces the specific smell, and this is already a lot. If possible, place the rabbit carcass in running water.

You can marinate in several ways:

• Vinegar. Wine vinegar (not acetic acid!) and spices are used. Usually vinegar is diluted in water or the water is slightly acidified with vinegar. The downside is that any vinegar, along with softening, reduces the natural flavor of the meat. Before cooking, the vinegar marinade should be washed off with water.
• White wine is one of the best pickling options. The wine almost completely removes the specific smell, softens and flavors the meat very well. The result is an exquisite dish with a delicate taste, pleasant aroma and very healthy properties. Sometimes red wine is used for pickling, for example in French cuisine. Also definitely with spices.
• Whey is a very good option. Whey is used for soaking and marinating hare meat, but is also suitable for rabbits. The meat noticeably softens and the bad smell is removed.
• Crushed garlic with olive oil is considered one of the classic marinade options for rabbit. You need quite a lot of garlic - 2 heads for a normal carcass. You can add a mixture of finely chopped herbs. The rabbit carcass must be rubbed with this mixture and refrigerated for 2-3 hours. Garlic will create a flavor contrast, soften the texture of the meat and will be an assistant in stewing in white wine.

Young or “store-bought” rabbits should be soaked only in water, whey or wine. Vinegar is used if the smell is really strong and unpleasant for some reason. In this case, vinegar muffles the smell, but at the same time makes the rabbit less expressive. This is why marinades with vinegar should be used carefully.

Spices

A rabbit can't live without spices. They can be added at the marinating stage (decoction or sprinkling) or immediately before cooking. There is a conditional list of “mandatory” spices and seasonings that are guaranteed to improve the taste of the rabbit; the rest can be added to taste.

Mandatory :

• Black pepper.
• Bay leaf.
• Salt.

Additional:

• Rosemary.
• Basil.
• Oregano.
• Dill.
• Parsley.
• Thyme (savory).
• Coriander.
• Cinnamon.
• Carnation.
• Celery.
• Lemon.
• Garlic.
• Juniper berries.

Black pepper, onion and bay leaf can be added both at the soaking stage and during the cooking process. Spices can and should even be added at the soaking stage. Especially if the rabbit is marinated for more than 3 hours.

Dishes

A whole rabbit is cooked quite rarely, this greatly simplifies the choice of dishes. Use a thick-walled frying pan and saucepan. For baking you will need a large pan or a roasting pan. You can simmer in a frying pan with high walls. For cooking - an enamel or steel pan. Consider the size of the rabbit. Some specimens reach 4 kilograms when cut. You may have to cook it in two steps. In this case, it is logical to cook the upper part of the carcass separately from the lower part.

Cooking time

It all depends on the cooking method. Soaking takes from 2 to 16 hours. Cutting and washing will take another 10 minutes. Frying chopped small pieces of the lower part in a well-heated frying pan for about 30 minutes, ribs and front legs for about 20 minutes. If you fry the belly separately, 5 minutes on each side. A well-marinated rabbit, chopped into small pieces, is baked at a temperature of 190 degrees for about 25-35 minutes. Stew in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. As a rule, the rabbit is not cooked for more than an hour. But if low temperatures are used, the time can be increased. Long-term heat treatment does not make rabbit meat softer, but the aroma and properties of the meat may deteriorate. When preparing, it is quite acceptable to use several types of processing. First, you can fry it in a hot frying pan and then simmer it. Frying can be replaced by boiling.

Rabbit is suitable for all types of heat treatment. This is a versatile meat suitable for boiling, stewing, frying, baking and grilling. It tastes best when stewed and baked. You can simmer it either in the oven or on the stove. The classic option is to cook it with sour cream. Sour cream performs several functions at once. Firstly, it softens the meat, working as a marinade; secondly, it prevents it from drying out (in case of baking); thirdly, sour cream allows you to preserve the flavor of the rabbit.

Rabbit under sour cream

Ingredients:
rabbit carcass,
500 g sour cream,
1 carrot,
2 tbsp. spoons of butter,
1 onion,
3-4 cloves of garlic,
herbs (oregano, thyme, basil),
caraway,
Bay leaf,
black pepper,
salt.

Preparation:
Cut the prepared rabbit carcass (marinated using any convenient method) into convenient portions. Fry in rabbit fat (if available) or vegetable oil. Transfer to a bowl (duck dish, large baking sheet). Cut the carrots into strips, the onion into rings or half rings. Sauté in butter and place on meat. Season with salt and pepper. Add ground cumin and bay leaf. Heat the sour cream in a water bath until liquid, pour in carefully along the side. Bring to a boil and place in an oven preheated to 160-180 degrees. For the first 15-20 minutes, pour the juices over the meat, then cover, reduce the temperature to 160 and simmer for another 25-35 minutes. Serve hot.

There are many recipes for cooking rabbits that cannot fit into the scope of this article, but the basic principles can be described in a few words. The rabbit allows itself to be cooked in a variety of ways; it only does not like high temperatures. Herbs are always suitable for rabbit, the choice of which is always at the discretion of the cook. In any case, thyme, oregano and basil will always be appropriate. It is recommended to serve and eat rabbit only hot. Dry or semi-dry red wines are suitable.

Rabbit with olives

Ingredients (4 servings):
rabbit (1.5-2 kg),
500 g tomatoes,
2 onions,
3 cloves of garlic,
100 g olives,
100-200 g white wine,
2 sweet peppers,
4 tbsp. spoons of olive oil,
herbs (thyme, rosemary, dill),
Bay leaf,
black pepper,
salt.

Preparation:
Rinse the meat in running water and dry with a towel. Peel the onion and garlic, rinse the greens and chop finely. Fry the rabbit pieces in a saucepan (in hot oil) for about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper the meat. Add onion, garlic, herbs to the saucepan and fry everything for 3-4 minutes. Peel the tomatoes (by pouring boiling water over them), cut each in half, remove the cores and seeds and chop finely. Add tomatoes to the stewing meat, simmer for 3-4 minutes and pour in the wine. Bring the mixture to a boil, pepper and salt. After this, simmer for 25 minutes. 7-10 minutes before the end of cooking, add the sweet pepper cut into slices, and at the very end add the olives.

Now you know how to cook rabbit and delight your guests. Bon appetit!

The history of the Easter Bunny is shrouded in mystery and speculation. We will try to tell you why the Easter bunny became a symbol of Easter, and we will also reveal the secret of making Maltese figoli cookies. The recipe for an Easter bunny made from dough is not at all complicated and consists of available ingredients.

This question of who the Easter Bunny was first interested me when I was looking at Easter wallpapers for my desktop and saw many images of him next to Easter baskets with eggs, Easter cakes and flowers.

What is what? My next encounter with this mythical creature occurred when, in the “Handicrafts for Easter” section, I again came across an image of a hare.

Rabbit again? Easter Bunny... Hmmm...

“We need to find out more,” I thought.

Interesting: I know about eggs, Easter cakes, and cottage cheese. But Easter and the Bunny? Let's try to figure it out.

The story of the Easter Bunny. Why the Easter Bunny became a symbol of Easter

1. The times of pagan gods... Pre-Christian Europe, more precisely Germany. Goddess of dawn and fertility - Eostra. Due to its fertility and ability to shed annually, as an association of new life, the rabbit became Eostra's assistant. He was always nearby and helped carry the lamps.

By the way, the same hare accompanied Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Perhaps it was from that time that the rabbit, as an image of fertility and prosperity, became a symbol of Easter among the Germans from the sixteenth century.

1. Another version says that the hare is a lunar animal. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon.
2. There was a legend (16th century) about the Easter Bunny laying eggs and hiding them in the forest. Probably, the Germans wanted a little fairy tale, and instead of the usual chicken, they described a hare in this legend. So in Saxony a rooster brought eggs, in Bavaria - a cuckoo, in Hesse - a fox, in Alsace - a stork.
3. There is also a later version of the manifestation of this furry animal. One poor woman, who had absolutely no means to support her children, hid the stolen eggs in the front garden near her house. The kids saw them when a bunny was jumping not far from the hiding place. Then the kids thought that the fluffy hare had brought them the eggs.

Although, they say, there is a fact in history when Goethe came up with a game for friends. Its meaning was to hide the hare.

The Easter Bunny is one of the "greatest joys of childhood" in Europe. Early on Easter morning, children who had behaved well all year heard the phrase: “The Easter Bunny hid the baskets somewhere, you need to find them.” After all, it is the Easter Bunny who hides various goodies on the eve of the holiday. Children should run and look for a basket with sweets, gingerbread, and eggs. This symbol of Easter is so ingrained among the Germans that even the father of the family or the eldest son dresses up in it (a simplified version is to put on ears and a tail) to bring joy to his loved ones, especially children. All kinds of toys, souvenirs and various tinsel are made in the shape of bunnies.

In 1991, a museum dedicated to this animal was opened in Germany.

On about. Malta has a custom of baking so-called macaroons - figoli (in the form of rabbits too).

Shortcrust pastry figures with marzipan filling are glazed, sprinkled with nuts or decorated with chocolate.

Easter bunny dough recipe. Maltese figoli cookies

Ingredients:

• butter – 75 g;
• granulated sugar – 1.25 tbsp;
• chicken eggs – 2 pcs.;
• vanillin – 5 g;
• wheat flour – 1 tbsp;
• baking powder – 0.5 tsp;
• salt – 0.5 tsp. salt;
• sour cream – 100 ml;
• almonds – 140 g;
• powdered sugar – 60 g;
• almond liqueur – 0.5 tsp.

Making an Easter bunny from dough. Maltese figoli cookies

Mix sifted wheat flour with baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat one egg with half the sugar. Add vanillin.

Then pour sour cream into the egg mixture, add flour and baking powder and knead the shortbread dough.

For the filling, take a deep container. Break one egg, pour in the liqueur. In another container, mix sugar, powdered sugar, almonds. Add the egg mixture to them.

Roll out the shortbread dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 4 millimeters.

Using a sharp knife or a special mold, cut out the Easter bunny (2 pieces per figure), large or a couple of small ones.

Many people associate the bright holiday of Easter with joy, family warmth and meeting old friends and relatives. The culmination of the holiday is the Easter service in the church, but then everyone rushes to the festive table to break their fast after the official end of Lent. The main dishes of the day, of course, are cottage cheese Easter. But no holiday table will look complete if it is not decorated with colorful dishes.

Salads for Easter should not only be a real decoration for a festive feast, but also not harm your health. After 48 days of strict fasting, you should not immediately indulge yourself in large quantities of meat delicacies and fatty foods. In this sense, salads are the most suitable option, which will give you a festive mood and at the same time will not result in stomach troubles. Salads from fresh vegetables are also recommended as side dishes for hot meat dishes, since the body will better assimilate such a tandem. We have selected for you recipes for delicious Easter dishes that are quite simple to prepare and original in appearance.

The strict Lent ends on Easter, and therefore, from a religious point of view, on this day you can treat yourself to everything your soul desires. Therefore, there are no special requirements for what kind of salads must be present on the Easter table. It all depends on the personal wishes and imagination of the hostess. Another thing is that during 48 days of restrictions, your body has become accustomed to a completely different diet. In particular, the activity of the production of enzymes that are involved in the breakdown of animal protein has decreased. Therefore, an abundance of meat and fatty dishes for Easter will certainly lead to pain in the stomach or intestines.

The ideal option would be to gradually come out of a long fast. This means that this gradual process will take two weeks. But what to do when Easter requires you to taste blessed eggs and Easter cakes, not to mention other festive dishes? Doctors recommend not to overuse eggs and to break your fast with literally two, or better yet, one. If you exceed this norm, a serious blow to your internal organs - the intestines, liver and gall bladder - can occur. Following this, you may feel sharp colic.

Therefore, on Easter it is recommended to break the fast little by little with a piece of Easter cake, Easter cottage cheese and an egg. Eat slowly and in small portions. If you snack on small amounts of food at intervals of three hours, you can try everything you want without harming your body.

A separate nutrition system will help you break fast, and salads are very useful for this. Try to eat meat or fish with them, and not with stewed potatoes or rice. By the way, during the festive feast, choose one of the main dishes - meat or fish. The fact is that the body secretes different enzymes for their absorption, so it is better not to mix them, otherwise the products will not be fully absorbed.

Prepare more salads from fresh vegetables and herbs. Do not skimp on parsley, green onions and dill, which will help digest the food. In addition, use vegetable oil as a salad dressing: olive or sunflower. It is lower in calories than sour cream or mayonnaise, and also goes better with vegetables and meat dishes.

Try to replace vinegar with fresh lemon juice, which is gentler on the stomach.

The advantage of vegetable mixes for Easter is that they are not only easy on the stomach, but also quick to prepare. This means that you will not need to spend several hours at the stove to prepare healthy and tasty dishes for your loved ones. One of the simple options for the Easter table would be a salad using canned fish.

Based on tuna and arugula

To do it, you only need five minutes of free time. All you need:

• tomato - 1 pc.;
• arugula salad - 100 g;
• canned tuna - 50 g;
• pine nuts - 1 tsp;
• olive oil - 1 tbsp. l.;
• salt and pepper - to taste.

If you bought arugula in bunches, then rinse the greens thoroughly and dry them with a paper towel. For purchased packaged arugula, this step is not required (it is already packaged processed). Place the greens in a salad bowl and add the tuna there too. The tomato should be cut into medium-sized cubes and added to the arugula and tuna. There are also pine nuts and olive oil. Season everything with salt and pepper - the Easter salad is ready.

From green vegetables

This is one of the budget and very healthy options for Easter dishes. For it you need the following products.

Grate the cheese onto a fine grater, tear the lettuce leaves into small pieces, and cut the onion into rings. Place them in a salad bowl. Drain the can of peas and add the contents to the other ingredients. There are also finely chopped parsley and dill. Add salt, season with vegetable oil, sprinkle with lemon juice and stir thoroughly.

Spinach mix

It will take a little more time to prepare the spinach salad. According to the recipe, you will need the following set of products:

• spinach - 2 bunches;
• tomatoes - 2 pcs.;
• champignons - 10 pcs.;
• balsamic vinegar - 1 tsp;
• almonds - a handful;
• olive oil - 3 tbsp. l.;
• salt and pepper - to taste.

First of all, prepare a spicy salad dressing.

To do this, fry the almonds in a frying pan until they brown. Then put it in a blender, add balsamic vinegar and olive oil (2 tbsp.). Turn on the blenders and wait until it grinds the almonds into coarse crumbs. After this, wash the spinach thoroughly and dry it. For the salad you only need leaves. Take a bowl and mix together the chopped spinach, dressing and diced tomatoes. Add olive oil (1 tbsp) there. Then fry the champignons in a frying pan. Take a salad bowl and place fried mushrooms on its bottom. Then the salad from the bowl. The dish can be served.

Radish and egg

For those who love this simple vegetable, a simple Easter salad recipe based on it may come in handy. Includes:

• radishes - 250 g;
• chicken eggs - 4 pcs.;
• dill - to taste;
• sour cream - 3 tbsp. l.;
• salt - to taste.

Cut the radishes into circles and the boiled eggs into semicircles. Chop the dill and add to the eggs with radishes. Season with salt and sour cream.

Easter themed salads

They look spectacular: so beautiful that it’s even especially pleasant to cook them. Their only drawback is that they contain a lot of fatty ingredients. If you have been strictly fasting, then it is probably better for you to refrain from trying them. But you can be a little more inventive and replace some ingredients to make the dish more dietary.

Easter Bunny Salad

One of the most beautiful holiday dishes. For it you will need the following products:

• chicken fillet - 250 g;
• chicken eggs - 3 pcs.;
• mayonnaise - 150 g;
• processed cheese - 1.5 packs;
• walnuts - 75 g;
• prunes - 100 g;
• mayonnaise - 150 g;
• hard cheese - 75 g;
• dill and parsley - to taste;
• carrots - 1.5 pcs.;
• Chinese cabbage - 1 pc. (small);
• salt and pepper - to taste.

Boil the chicken fillet. Also hard-boil the eggs and grate them on a coarse grater. Do the same with boiled carrots. Rinse the prunes and dry them with a paper towel, then cut them into strips. Grate both types of cheese and chop the nuts into crumbs. Next, combine grated hard cheese, nuts, eggs, prunes, carrots and fillet, add mayonnaise and mix. Set the grated processed cheese aside for now.

Cover a large dish with herbs and start laying out the prepared salad on this pillow. To do this, divide the mixture with mayonnaise into 2 parts to form the body and head of the Easter bunny. Sprinkle it with grated processed cheese on top. Cut out the animal's ears from Chinese cabbage leaves.

Salad “Easter wreath”

Another popular option, for the preparation of which you will need:

• chicken fillet - 250 g;
• potatoes - 2 pcs. (average);
• chicken eggs - 5 pcs.;
• carrots - 2 pcs.;
• hard cheese - 75 g;
• salt and pepper - to taste;
• mayonnaise - to taste;
• medium bulbs - 2 pcs.;
• garlic cloves - 2 pcs.;
• vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l.;
• sugar - 1 tsp;
• water - 250 ml;
• vinegar - 3 tbsp. l.

Boil carrots, potatoes and eggs. When the eggs are ready, separate the yolks from the whites. Cut the onion into cubes and place in a container. Add salt, a little vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and pour boiling water. Leave the onion to marinate for half an hour, then drain the water. Season the fillet with salt and pepper and fry until done. Then place on a plate and let cool. When the fillet has cooled, cut it into cubes.

To form the salad you will need a large dish and a glass.

Place a glass in the middle of the plate - around it you will lay out the salad in layers. For the first layer, grate boiled potatoes, salt, pepper and mix with mayonnaise. Place it around the glass. The second layer is pickled onions. The third is chicken mixed with mayonnaise. Fourth layer - grate the carrots and yolks, mix them, salt and pepper, add mayonnaise and mix. The fifth layer consists of grated cheese and garlic mixed with mayonnaise. The grated whites come last. Carefully remove the glass.

Salads in the shape of Easter symbols

The most recognizable culinary attribute of Easter is Easter cake. You also can’t do without colored eggs. You can make beautiful dishes by arranging the ingredients in their shape.

Salad "Easter Easter cake"

It will require the following products:

• chicken fillet - 250 g;
• mayonnaise - 150 g;
• carrots - 1 pc.;
• potatoes - 1 pc.;
• tomato - 2 pcs.;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• hard cheese - 150 g;
• chicken eggs - 3 pcs.;
• garlic cloves - 2 pcs.;
• salt and pepper - to taste;
• breadcrumbs - 2–3 tbsp. l..
• vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l.

Boil the chicken fillet and cool. Cut the onion into large cubes and saute it over low heat until half cooked. Grate the carrots and add to the onions, simmer them for a couple of minutes. Finely chop the garlic and mix it with thirty grams of mayonnaise. Cut the fillet into small cubes and add to the carrots and onions. Season everything with salt and pepper. Grate boiled eggs and potatoes, as well as cheese, on a coarse grater (each ingredient separately). Mix potatoes and cheese with mayonnaise-garlic mixture.

To form a salad in the form of an Easter cake, you will need a dish and a tall tin can, half a liter or a liter in volume. It should be without a lid and bottom. Place this tin cylinder in the center of the dish. Then layer the salad into it. Separate the products with a thin layer of mayonnaise and tamp them well with a spoon. Alternate layers in the following sequence: carrots and onions, eggs, tomatoes cut into rings, potatoes with cheese.

When you reach the top of the tin cylinder, carefully lift it up. The culinary product must hold its shape firmly. Place the remaining salad on top in a mound. Coat the salad cake well on all sides with mayonnaise and sprinkle it with breadcrumbs (except for the top). Decorate the top as you wish.

Easter Egg Salad

Another interesting dish option for Easter. It requires the following ingredients:

• boiled sausage - 250 g;
• boiled potatoes - 200 g;
• chicken eggs - 3 pcs.;
• onions - 2 pcs. (small);
• carrots - 2 pcs. (small);
• mayonnaise - 150 g;
• vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l.;
• salt, pepper and herbs - to taste.

Grate the boiled potatoes. Boil the eggs, cool and separate the yolks from the whites. Separately, grate them on a fine grater. Cut the sausage into cubes. Grate the carrots and cut the onion into small cubes. Fry the onion and then add grated carrots to it, simmer them together.

Place a layer of potatoes on a flat holiday dish: immediately form an oval, as if you were “drawing” an egg. Season it on top with salt and pepper, brush with mayonnaise. The next layer is sausage, which is also covered with mayonnaise. Then come the yolks. Also salt them and grease them with mayonnaise. Then come onions with carrots and mayonnaise. The last layer is proteins.

If you wish, you can decorate the dish by cutting out stars and flowers from carrots and bell peppers.

Is it possible to cook for Easter?

Salads generally need to be prepared just before serving to ensure they are fresh and tasty. And housewives are worried about whether they should bother preparing complex, time-consuming recipes on one of the most revered days by Orthodox Christians. After all, it has long been accepted that on especially significant religious holidays, the largest of which is Easter, it is forbidden to do household chores and work.

But if you ask the opinion of priests, you will find out that there is no canonical ban on working on Easter. This is, rather, an ancient pious tradition associated with the fact that people wanted to devote this bright day to thoughts of lofty things, and not to worries about household chores. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with first visiting the temple on Easter and listening to the service, and then starting preparing salads and other dishes. But it is important to maintain a balance so as not to spend the entire holiday at the stove. Still, rest on Easter Sunday needs to be allocated the lion's share of time.

Easter celebrations will be especially unforgettable when you pamper your guests and household with fantastically beautiful salads. If you have kids, making a dish in the shape of a bunny or Easter egg can be a lot of fun. And simple and quick recipes for vegetable salads will help you smoothly bring your body out of fasting without overloading your stomach.

Every time we prepare for the Bright Resurrection of Christ, we experience a special mood. Even in those years when religious holidays and rituals were banned, people secretly painted eggs and baked Easter cakes. Traditions were passed on from generation to generation, carefully preserved. However, there are also some among them that are not so widespread. For example, did you know that in addition to Easter cake, other baked goods are also prepared for Easter? One option is Easter bunnies. These could be cupcakes, buns, cookies. They turn out delicious and amazing to look at. Today the culinary site will tell you how such rabbits are prepared from dough without special molds.

Easter Bunny - symbolism of Easter

It is customary for Catholics to decorate their homes and tables for Easter with figurines of rabbits in a wide variety of designs. However, they look great next to the usual colored eggs, Easter cakes and cottage cheese Easter. And just like in European countries, in our homes charming bunnies symbolize well-being.

In general, researchers believe that the rabbit is a pre-Christian symbol. It is this animal that many European peoples have associated with the Goddess of Fertility and the Spring Equinox since ancient times. But with the mixing of pagan and Christian holidays, the prolific furry animal found its place alongside eggs, hens, larks and lambs.

A variety of baked goods in the shape of a hare for Easter are gradually gaining popularity in Russia. It is especially popular with children who love these harmless animals in any form. Try it and add some zest to your Easter treat. And we will tell you how to do this simply, without using special forms.

Easter cupcake in the shape of a bunny

If you are thinking about what to bake for Easter, besides Easter cake, try this recipe. No special forms or complex manipulations are required, and the result will certainly please you.

Basically, you can use any cupcake or biscuit recipe you like. The difference between this option is the large number of eggs. The dough turns out tender and retains freshness for a long time. This Easter cake is a worthy addition to the traditional Easter cake.

Ingredients:

• eggs – 6 pcs.;
• granulated sugar – 1 cup;
• butter – 250 gr. (we recommend using high-quality, real butter, since the taste of the finished product directly depends on this);
• flour (wheat, premium) - 2 cups (pour them generously, heaped);
• baking powder for dough – 2 tsp;
• alcohol (cognac, rum, vodka, whiskey, liqueur - your choice) - 2 tbsp. l.
• raisins (you can add dried apricots, prunes, nuts if desired).

Don't worry about the presence of alcohol in baked goods. During the baking process, the alcohol will disappear, leaving only a subtle aroma, for the sake of which the drink is introduced into the recipe. However, if you are absolutely against it, replace the alcohol with water. But in this case, be sure to add vanillin or other confectionery flavoring.

Attention! The amount of ingredients is indicated for 1 cupcake. To make an Easter bunny, you will need two identical round cake layers. If you don't have two round pans of the same diameter, you can bake the cakes one after the other. The main thing to remember is that you will need double the amount of food.

Just like when making yeast dough, all foods must be warm, room temperature. So be sure to take them out of the refrigerator in advance.

For decoration you will need colored icing and confectionery sprinkles. You can use traditional protein glaze for Easter cakes, or you can try making a lemon variation.

Ingredients for glaze:

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar;
• 1.5-2 tbsp. spoons of lemon juice.

To prepare the glaze, sift the powdered sugar, then gradually add lemon juice and mix. The exact amount of juice should be determined by the thickness of the glaze itself. If it is too thick, add a few more drops of juice (or water). If it turns out too liquid, add more powder. The main thing is to ensure that the mass is homogeneous, without lumps.

Properly prepared lemon glaze hardens very quickly, so pour it over the Easter cake immediately after cooking.

Preparation:

• The first step is to sort, rinse and pour boiling water over the raisins. While the dough is starting, it will have time to steam and cool to the desired temperature.
• Take a large container and sift the flour into it.
• Add softened butter and sugar to the flour. Grind everything by hand into soft plastic crumbs.
• Add baking powder and mix thoroughly again.
• Add eggs to the dough. Important point: add eggs strictly one at a time! Break, mix until smooth, break the next one.
• When the dough is ready, pour alcohol into it, add flavorings (if using them) and steamed raisins (along with the liquid in which they swelled).

The finished dough has the consistency of thick sour cream - shiny, oily.

Transfer it to the pan and bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for about 30 minutes. After this, reduce the temperature to 160 o C and keep our Easter cake for about 30 minutes. We check readiness with a sharp wooden skewer - inserted into the baked goods, it should come out dry.

When both cakes are ready, taken out of the mold and cooled, we begin to transform them into an Easter bunny.

All “magic” operations are presented in the photo below. As you can see, one of the cakes remains intact. We cut the second into 3 parts according to the diagram; from these parts we will get the ears and bow with which our Easter bunny is decorated.

All that remains is to decorate our baked goods with icing and confectionery sprinkles. To make eyes and a nose, you can use raisins and multi-colored dragees. If you prefer cream, you are free to use it by adding suitable food coloring.

This is not the only option for making an Easter bunny cupcake. You can also try this method:

Easter buns in the shape of bunnies

“Live” yeast dough in itself is a symbol of spring, awakening, growth. And therefore it could not be more appropriate on the Easter table. You can use your usual recipe for baking buns, changing only the shape of the products. Just imagine how happy your children will be when they see adorable bunnies on the table!

A very tender, soft dough is obtained according to the following recipe:

Ingredients:

• 350 gr. medium fat sour cream;
• 3 eggs;
• 80 ml water;
• 30 gr. "raw" yeast;
• 3 tbsp. spoons of granulated sugar;
• 0.5 teaspoons of salt;
• 700 gr. flour.

Just like when we prepare Easter cake, all ingredients should be brought to room temperature. Only in this case will the yeast dough rise and the baked goods will be fluffy.

Preparation:

The golden color and subtle aroma will tell you that the Easter bunny buns are ready.

By the way, the buns can be made with filling – poppy seed or any other. To do this, we first roll each ball into a small “ribbon”, on which we spread the filling, and then roll it into a sausage-flagellum. The main thing is not to reach the part that will turn into ears.

Easter buns in the shape of rabbits can be baked in other ways, shown in the photo:

The same methods can be used to bake Easter cookies from shortcrust pastry. Ruddy, appetizing rabbits will look great next to tall or cottage cheese.

Happy holiday to you!

Do you want to feel like a real pastry chef and decorate your Easter table with a pink Easter bunny? We invite you to prepare holiday cookies for Easter “Easter Bunny”. We will prepare the dough for these cookies using regular sugar cookies, cut the cookies in the shape of a rabbit, and use multi-colored protein glazes to color the cookies. Decorating baked goods with protein glaze is called icing. If you carefully follow the instructions, you will not only get beautiful and tasty baked goods; by wrapping the rabbit in packaging, you can surprise your family and friends with a cute Easter gift.

Taste Info Cookies

Ingredients for shortcrust pastry:

• butter – 80 g;
• sugar – 90 g;
• vanillin – 2 g;
• milk – 25 g;
• egg (yolk) – 1 pc.
• flour – 170 g.
• Icing:
• culinary paints: pink, red, yellow – 1 g each;
• egg (white) – 1 pc.
• powdered sugar – 190 gr.

Cooking time: 110 minutes
Number of servings: 3

How to make Easter Bunny cookies

Beat soft butter, sugar, vanilla, raw yolk and milk in a mixer at low speed. Transfer the resulting mixture into a bowl with premium wheat flour. Knead the soft dough with your hands.


Place the dough ball in a food bag. Roll out into a thin layer. Cool in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.


Pattern. Print out the rabbit and egg on thick paper. Red lines indicate the internal details of the drawing.


Roll out the cooled dough into a layer of 7 millimeters. Place a small piece on a baking sheet. We cut out the figures using a knife according to the pattern.


Preheat the oven to 165 degrees Celsius. Bake for 11 minutes.

Mix the glaze. Strain the raw protein. Sift the powder through a fine sieve. Grind the protein and powder. The glaze is ready when a drop placed on a flat surface does not spread.


To color the bunny you will need a lot of pink icing, a little white, a teaspoon each of red and yellow. Prepare the desired colors before applying in small portions.


Fill a baking bag with pink icing. Paint over the rabbit and the egg. The glaze should dry in 15 minutes. After that, apply the next color.


Use white icing to paint 2 eggs, the tail, breast and ears of the rabbit.


We repeat the outline of the rabbit's head and hind leg with pink icing to give volume to these details. We draw pink flowers on the white egg.

Teaser network

Using white icing we draw the second paw and the details of the muzzle according to the sketch, and when it dries, paint over the red nose.


On the rabbit's cheek we draw small white dots and lines on the legs. Use a black culinary marker to color the eye.


When the flowers are dry, paint the center on the egg with bright yellow glaze.


We tie a festive bow to the finished Easter bunny. You need to leave these cookies in a dry place (room temperature) for 5 hours so that the glaze dries and hardens well.


Our festive Easter cookies with icing are ready.