Rabbit Rolls

A few years ago my MIL gave me a fun cookbook, Taste of Home Celebrations Cookbook. It is great because it does a full menu for each season/holiday throughout the year and includes fun theme treats that kids seem to love. This particular recipe has become a favorite this time of year and I wanted to post it early so if anyone wanted to make them for an Easter gathering, you could. These take about 2-2.5 hrs. start to eat, but they don't need to be served warm, so you could make them in the morning and eat them for dinner if you like (which is what I did today for book club tonight).
*4-4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
*1/2 c. sugar
*1 1/2 TBSP. yeast (2 pkgs.)
*1 1/2 tsp. salt
*1 c. plus 1/2 tsp. water, divided
*6 TBSP. butter, cubed
*1 egg, separated
*1 egg

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 c. flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, over medium, heat 1 c. water and butter to 120-130 degrees (if you don't have a thermometer, warm water for most recipes is about 110 degrees, so go a bit warmer than that, it should not be boiling!). Add butter mix to dry ingredients; beat for 2 minutes. Separate egg, cover and refrigerate white to be used later. Add egg yolk, egg and 1 c. flour to the yeast mixture; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough.
Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. (If you are only making one batch, just do the kneading in your mixer. Replace paddle with a dough hook and knead on low for 5-6 minutes, until it pulls away from sides and is smooth and elastic.
This dough is very heavy so I wouldn't try doubling the batch in a mixer unless you've got a Bosch.) Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 20 pieces (about 1.75oz. each or just bigger than the size of a golf ball). Shape 18 pieces into 10-in-long ropes. Fold in half; twist top half twice to form ears. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Shape remaining dough into 18 balls. Place one on the loop end of each roll to form the tail; press into the dough. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Whisk the reserved egg white with remaining water; brush over rolls. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. This makes 18 rolls. They look really cute if you serve them from an Easter basket.