Butterfly and Hearts Shaped Sweet Buns with Raisins

Prepare the quick sweet yeast dough.

After kneading it a second time and letting it rest, divide it into 16 small pieces, shaping them into balls.

Let them rest for 10 minutes, then roll them out with a rolling pin to about 5 mm thick.

Brush each dough circle with a bit of softened butter.

For a vegan option, brush with apricot jam or a little oil.

Sprinkle approximately 0.5 teaspoons of sugar over the butter.

Add raisins or poppy seeds, or cinnamon.

Roll up the dough.

Bend the roll by bringing the edges to the center.

Slice along its length, leaving about 1 cm to the edge—see the image for reference.

Shape the heart by unfolding the cut edges to the sides.

And voilà! A heart is ready for baking.

Now, let's make a 'Butterfly':

- Follow the same steps with the dough and the rolls, but instead of simply folding the roll, bring both edges to the middle, keeping the edges inward—refer to the image.

Turn the roll and slice it halfway on both sides—leave one cm in the middle uncut.

Slowly unfold the edges and you have a "Butterfly".

Kids love making these buns, as they are fascinated by the dough transformations.

Place all the buns on a baking tray and brush them with beaten egg.

During fasting, skip brushing or use tea infusion instead.

Bake them in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes—be mindful of how quickly they bake.

Here are the Romanian 'hearts'...

And here are the "butterflies"...

Enjoy!