(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...No other holiday inspires sugar addicts to go searching for their favorite once-a-year candy releases like Easter, but sometimes the prospect of spending hard-earned cash on chocolates and jelly beans is less than appetizing. Fortunately, with just a few staple ingredients — butter, powdered sugar and chocolate chips — and a few interesting flavors — maple, coconut and peanut butter — homemade Easter favorites can be made in just a few hours for a fraction of the cost of store-bought chocolate eggs.
Coconut Cream Eggs
Although coconut isn’t the first flavor most think of when it comes to Easter eggs, coconut cream-filled eggs have gained popularity in recent years. Coconut cream eggs can are now sold by Dove Chocolate, Russell Stover and specialty chocolate shops across America. This homemade version is simple yet elegant.
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1/2 package cream cheese, softened (4 oz.)
1 1/4 pounds powdered sugar
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. shortening
In a large bowl, mix together butter, coconut extract and cream cheese. Stir in powdered sugar to make a workable dough. Stir in coconut. For best results, use your hands for mixing.
Roll dough into egg shapes and place on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard, at least an hour.
When ready to dip, melt chocolate chips with shortening in microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds. Dip each egg, covering completely, and place on wax paper. Refrigerate for one hour to harden. Makes about 24 eggs.
Vanilla Cream Eggs
One of the world’s most classic flavors, vanilla, is the star ingredient in these homemade chocolate eggs. A variety of chocolatiers, including Fannie May and See’s Candies, are known for creating these delightful confections for the Easter holiday. For a variation, add 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to this recipe to give the eggs a chocolate cream filling.
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 package cream cheese, softened (4 oz.)
1 1/4 pounds powdered sugar
1 cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp. shortening
In a large bowl, mix together butter, vanilla and cream cheese. Stir in powdered sugar to make a workable dough. For best results, use your hands for mixing.
Roll dough into egg shapes, and place on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard, at least an hour.
When ready to dip, melt chocolate chips with shortening in microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds. Dip each egg, covering completely, and place on wax paper. Refrigerate for one hour to harden. Makes about 24 eggs.
Peanut Butter Eggs
These chocolate-covered eggs boast a creamy peanut butter filling that’s comparable to the ever-popular Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. For a variation, the eggs can be made with crunchy peanut butter to add a bit more texture to each bite.
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups creamy or crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, melted
2-3 Tbsp. milk
1 bag milk chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 Tbsp. shortening
Beat powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter and 2 tablespoons milk together until dough is soft and crumbly. Working with about 2 cups of dough at a time, roll the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness on a flat, floured surface. If dough is still too crumbly to roll out, add an additional tablespoon of milk.
Use an egg-shaped or circle-shaped cookie cutter to make eggs. If using a circle-shaped cookie cutter, press dough into egg shape after cutting. Place eggs on a cookie sheet and chill in freezer for one hour.
When ready to dip, melt chocolate chips and shortening in microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds. Dip each egg, covering completely, and place on wax paper until set. Eggs can be placed in fridge to speed up this process. Makes 14 to 18 1/2-inch thick eggs.
Cream Eggs
Cadbury’s Creme Eggs have been around since the early 1970s. Over the last several decades, they have become a symbol of Easter and adorable clucking bunnies. This homemade version is about as close to the real thing as you can get.
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups powdered sugar
4 drops yellow food coloring
1 bag milk chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 tbsp. shortening
Combine corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar a little bit at a time and mix by hand after each addition, until mixture is creamy.
Remove a third of the mixture and place in a small bowl. Add the food coloring to the removed portion and mix well. Cover both mixtures and chill in freezer for two hours.
When mixtures are firm, roll small, marble-sized balls from the yellow filling. Wrap a small amount of the white filling around the yellow ball. Form into the shape of eggs and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Repeat until mixture is gone. Chill eggs in freezer for two more hours.
When ready to dip, melt chocolate chips with shortening in microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds. Dip each egg, covering completely, and place on wax paper. Chill eggs in freezer for another two hours. Makes 16 to 20 eggs.
Maple Walnut Eggs
Russell Stover is known for producing a variety of different flavors of cream-filled eggs, but maple cream eggs are considered one of the chocolate company’s best-sellers. Although the homemade version is a simple recipe with only six ingredients, these chocolate eggs pack a big flavor punch.
1 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. maple flavoring
2 cups walnuts, chopped
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 Tbsp. shortening
Cream butter, powdered sugar and maple flavoring until smooth. Stir in walnuts. Shape into eggs, place on wax paper-lined cookie sheets and freeze until firm, about one hour.
When ready to dip, melt semi-sweet and butterscotch chips with shortening in microwave, stirring after every 30 seconds. Dip each egg, covering completely, and place on wax paper. Refrigerate eggs until hardened. Keep eggs stored in fridge. Makes about 36 small eggs.
