What makes these quark oil bunnies special does not happen in the oven but right after. Fresh from the oven, the bunnies are brushed with melted butter and immediately dipped in sugar. That one step turns a simple cut-out biscuit into something with a real crunch and a satisfying bite. Without it you have decent biscuits. With it you have the bake people ask you for the recipe of.
The dough is a classic quark oil base from the Thermomix®: low-fat quark, type 550 flour, oil, egg, baking powder and lemon zest. The Thermomix® kneads it on the kneading mode in 90 seconds. No proving, no yeast, no waiting for room temperature. The only essential pause: 30 minutes in the fridge before you roll it out.
Quark Oil Easter Bunnies, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 11 ✓
- 380 g flour, type 550
- 250 g low-fat quark
- 1 lemon unwaxed
- 70 g sugar
- 70 g oil
- 50 g milk
- 1 egg
- 1 sachet baking powder
- 1 sachet vanilla sugar
- 80 g butter
- 100 g sugar
Instructions 0 / 8
-
1
Dough.
Flour and quark into the mixing bowl. Wash the lemon, grate the zest of half the lemon, squeeze the juice and add the zest with 1 tbsp of juice. Add the remaining dough ingredients and knead for 1 minute 30 seconds / kneading mode.
-
2
Rest.
Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Rinse the mixing bowl.
-
3
Oven.
Preheat the oven to 170°C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper.
-
4
Melt the butter.
Place the butter in the mixing bowl and melt for 4 min / 60°C / speed 1. Put the sugar on a plate.
-
5
Roll out the dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to approx. 4 mm thickness, cut out Easter bunny shapes and place on the prepared baking tray.
-
6
Brush the bunnies.
Brush the bunnies with melted butter and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for approx. 8 minutes until pale golden.
-
7
Coat the bunnies.
After baking, brush the bunnies again with melted butter and dip them in the sugar. Leave to cool on the baking tray or a wire rack.
-
8
Storage.
To store, place the bunnies in an airtight biscuit tin.
Tip: Stored in an airtight container, the bunnies are best eaten within two days. That is when they taste their best.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why the dough needs the fridge after kneading
Low-fat quark varies in its whey content depending on the brand. A freshly kneaded quark oil dough is soft and sticky. Without the chilling time it sticks to the work surface, the rolling pin and the cutters. 30 minutes wrapped in cling film makes it firm enough to roll out properly. This step is not optional.
If your dough still feels too soft after chilling: next time drain the quark in a sieve lined with a clean kitchen cloth for 20 to 30 minutes before using it. Less whey in the quark means less stickiness in the dough. If you are baking several trays, put the remaining dough back in the fridge between batches so it stays cold and firm.
Roll to 4 mm, bake for 8 minutes
Thicker than 4 mm and the biscuits become bread-like. Thinner and they will burn in the 8-minute baking time. Two thin wooden battens placed alongside the dough as guides help you keep an even thickness while rolling. We always bake at 170°C fan: that way all the bunnies colour evenly, even when two trays are in the oven at the same time. With top and bottom heat the upper tray browns too quickly before the lower tray catches any colour.
The glaze: butter first, sugar straight away
We melt the butter directly in the Thermomix® at speed 1, 60°C, for 4 minutes. The bunnies come warm from the oven: brush them immediately with the liquid butter, then dip them straight into the sugar spread on a plate. Immediately means immediately. Butter soaks into the dough quickly, and once it is gone the sugar will no longer stick. The butter binds the sugar, the sugar gives the crunch. This is the trap nearly everyone falls into the first time.
Stored in an airtight biscuit tin the bunnies keep well for two days, after which they soften. Freezing is possible: freeze them before glazing, then brush and dip in sugar fresh after thawing.
If you want to use the same dough for other Easter bakes: the quark oil base cuts just as well into butterflies, eggs or simple rounds when you do not have a bunny cutter to hand.
How other recipes approach this
Goes well with: apple sauce, vanilla sauce and jam.
We have compared the top recipes for quark oil Easter bunnies made in the Thermomix®. Many blogs use 250 g quark to 500 g flour plus 1.5 sachets of baking powder, a ratio of roughly 1:2. We deliberately stay with a softer dough that contains more quark so the bunnies stay moister. Instead of the classic egg yolk glaze, some recipes brush the bunnies with melted butter and roll them warm in sugar, though the finish looks a little paler. Baking time and temperature are broadly agreed on: 180°C fan for around 12 to 14 minutes. Those who want a sweeter version add raisins, those who prefer it plainer simply leave out the sugar coating.
