Submitted by Marcia Van Camp
I saw this online and went out the same day to make little hippos because I though they were so cute. I am excited to try other animals like an octopus perhaps!
Ingredients:
1 package of frozen bread rolls (I used a generic brand that had 12 rolls)
Black eyed peas
Black beans
Butter
Soup of your choice
Directions:
1. Allow the dough to thaw. I let mine thaw in the bag, but the link above shows another method
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. Make the hippos! Basically, as I made each piece I would stick it onto the paper. You could forma complete hippo or do all the bodies, then all the heads, etc.
In general you want, 1 larger elongated shape for the body, a round ball for the head, 2 smaller round balls for the face, and 2 tiny balls for the ears. I didn't measure anything exactly, I just tried to make them look somewhat proportional. You could decide to make small hippos or big hippos, mine were about 3 inches long from back to front.
If it gets sticky, use some flour.
4. Let the dough rise to able double it's size. I took a while making my hippos so some were on the rise while I was making the rest, but that is ok.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. At this point, I brushed them with butter but the original directions have you brush them after they bake.
and bake the hippos for about 15-20 minutes. I ended up using 2 baking sheets because I wanted to have room and I was worried they would rise and stick together.
6. Allow them to cool and then cut slits for the eyes and nostrils. Add the beans and voila!
Notes:
*I used La Madeleine's tomato basil soup because it is so tasty.
*I didn't feel like cooking the beans so I just used uncooked beans, and then we just took them out when we ate.
*If you decide to store them in the freezer or fridge, just don't set them on top of each other because they might come apart.
