Bunny Hotcakes with Apple Butter Cream

Ingredients

Hotcakes:

• 2 cups just-add-water pancake mix
• 1 1/2 cups apple juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 (8-ounce) container whipped cream cheese
• 2/3 cup apple butter
• Cooking spray

Decoration:

• Shredded coconut
• 2 drops yellow food coloring
• Star-shaped dragees
• 1 bag mini-marshmallows

Special equipment:

• Bunny-shaped cookie cutter
• Egg-shaped cookie cutter
• Chick-shaped cookie cutter

Directions

To make the hotcakes: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the pancake mix, apple juice, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the whipped cream cheese and apple butter until smooth. Set aside.

Lightly spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Using a 1/3 cup measure, scoop the pancake batter into the skillet. Flip the pancakes when they start to bubble. Cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove pancakes to a cooling rack.

Using the shaped cookie-cutters, create several bunny, chick, and egg shapes from the cooled pancakes. Spread the tops completely with the reserved apple butter cream.

To decorate: Sprinkle the bunny and egg pancakes with shredded coconut. Create yellow "fur" for the chicks by shaking in a plastic bag 1 cup shredded coconut with 2 drops yellow food coloring until coated. Top the chick pancakes with the yellow coconut. Add star-shaped dragees to the bunny and chick pancakes to create "eyes." Finally, complete the bunny pancakes by adding a single mini-marshmallow to rear, creating a puffy "tail."