The Brown Eyed Baker said it best: “on Halloween you got candy in quantity. However, Easter was definitely all about the quality.” Hear, hear! This year, hit your friends with a made-with-love sugar fix and earn yourself a badge of Easter excellence. Here are 3 recipes that definitely beat your average standard-cocoa-mix chocolate bunny.
Homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs by Miss. Candiquick
If you’ve heard about the recent Cadbury creme egg scandal and subsequent uprising, you might be inspired to take matter into your own hands this Easter. Here’s the perfect knockoff recipe to do so.
1. In a large bowl, mix corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar little by little, mixing after each addition. Stir until creamy.
2. Remove about 1/3 of the sugar mixture and place into a separate small bowl. Add a few drops of the food colouring and mix well. Cover both mixtures and freeze 1 – 2 hours.
3. Remove the yellow mixture from the freezer, and while still cold, roll into marble-sized balls and place on wax paper. Freeze again for 20 mins.
4. Take out the yellow balls and wrap a small amount of the white filling around each. Form each into the shape of eggs and place on a baking sheet. Put back in the freezer.
5. Melt the candy coating according to the directions on the package. Coat each egg completely in the melted chocolate and set on wax paper to set. You may want to pull out one or two eggs at a time to dip and keep the others frozen. Set into an egg-shaped candy mould to make the form smoother.
Easter Marshmallow Bark by Fake Ginger
This springy, pastel-coloured “bark” is ridiculously easy to make. There’s only one bowl and 3 ingredients required – all of which are pretty much entirely sugar. What is Easter for?
Ingredients:
1. Line an 8 X 11 glass dish with parchment paper.
2. Put white chocolate and shortening in a medium sized glass bowl (white chocolate can seize when you try to melt it, so the shortening will help). Melt chocolate on low power in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then return to the microwave for 30 second increments, or until melted when stirred.
3. Add marshmallows to melted chocolate and stir to coat. Do this quickly, otherwise the marshmallows will melt completely.
4. Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan. Using a rubber scraper, make sure marshmallows extend to the edge of the pan. Press down to make even. Sprinkle all over with sprinkles.
5. Put in the freeer for bout 20 minutes, until the chocolate is set. When set, let cool to room temperature and then cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.
Homemade Reese Peanut Butter Eggs by The Brown Eyed Baker
Peanut butter lovers, this one goes out to you. This recipe contains more delicious peanut buttery filling than chocolate shell, and is easy to work with and totally forgiving. Wrap each in colourful foil wrappers to gift them.
Ingredients:
1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
2. In a saucepan, combine the peanut butter, butter, and sugar over medium heat. Heat until melted and starting to bubble, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add powdered guar, bit by bit, stirring until combined. Set aside to let cool completely.
3. Using a heaping tablespoon, (or teaspoon if you want smaller eggs, which may make the process of dipping in the melted chocolate more manageable) scoop out peanut butter mixutre and form into eggs shapes with your hands. Place on the baking sheet. Refrigerate to allow them to set, aout 30 mins.
4. Melt the chocolate chips and shortening together completely. One at a time, dip a peanut butter egg into the chocolate mixure and using a fork, flip it over so it’s completely covered. Remove it and return it to the baking sheet. Refrigerate all the eggs until set, about 30 mins.
Over the whole festive chocolate thing? Looking for something a little more grown-up to give your friends for Easter? Check out these 5 more-adult and calorie-wise Easter gifts.
