Cow-Shaped Veggie Buns

These cow-shaped veggie buns are the cutest way to get in your serving of veggies! Not a fan of mushrooms? Swap in your favorite vegetable, like carrots or potatoes. Want to make it vegan? Swap out the milk in the dough for water!

Ingredients for 12 servings

Dough

• ⅓ cup milk(80 mL)
• ½ teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour(155 g)
• pink food coloring
• black food coloring
• water, for brushing

Vegetable Filling

• ½ cup green cabbage(50 g), finely chopped
• ¼ shiitake mushroom, diced
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon ginger, minced
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the milk, yeast, sugar, and flour with a rubber spatula until the dough starts to come together.
2. Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook and mix the dough on medium-high speed for 10 minutes, until smooth.
3. Cover the dough with a wet towel and let rest for 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, make the vegetable filling: In a medium bowl, mix together the cabbage, mushrooms, green onion, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper.
5. Pull off about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball, then roll out into a log. Fold the outer ends of the log inward to overlap the center, then roll out into a log again. Repeat 2–3 more times, until the dough is very smooth. Press into a flat disc.
6. Scoop 3 tablespoons of the vegetable filling into the center of the dough, then wrap the dough around the filling to seal and roll into a ball. Set on a small square of parchment paper and repeat to make 12 total buns, leaving some excess dough for decorating.
7. Add a bit of pink food coloring to a portion of dough and roll out the dough as before, until the color is uniform.
8. Add a bit of black food coloring to another portion of dough and roll out the dough a until the color is uniform.
9. Use a finger to slightly dampen the outside of a bun with water. Stick on 2 small cone-shaped pieces of black dough for the horns, 2 teardrop-shaped pieces of white dough for the ears, a piece of pink dough for the nose, and 2 small dots of black dough for the eyes. Flatten more irregular pieces of black dough for the cow spots. Use the end of a chopstick to poke 2 holes in the snout. Repeat with the remaining buns.
10. Let the buns rest for 30 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, fill the bottom of a steamer with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. (If you don’t have a steamer, fill a large pot with a bowl at the bottom with water, then place a plate on top of the bowl, making sure the water does not come over the edges of the plate.)
12. Add the buns to the steamer, leaving enough space for the buns to expand. Cover the pot and steam the buns for 9–10 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through. Turn off the heat and let the buns rest in the steamer for 5 minutes before serving.
13. Enjoy!

Nutrition Info – Estimated values based on one serving size.

• Calories 61
• Fat 0g
• Carbs 11g
• Fiber 0g
• Sugar 2g
• Protein 1g