Easter Eggs and Chocolate Bunny Recipes

When you see how simple it is to make your own chocolate Easter candy, you'll never buy pre-made again. Even artisan chocolates take a backseat to what you can do at home, since you infuse that special ingredient for your family - your love.

We keep the recipes simple - and use similar ingredients from one egg type to another, to avoid a lot of fuss. I am picky about the kind of chocolate I use though - I get 2lb Merckens bars from King Arthur Flour.

Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut Eggs
Mix 1.5 lbs confectioner's sugar, 6 T butter, 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup flake coconut. Shape into eggs. Dip in melted, tempered dark chocolate. Makes 2 dozen medium eggs.

Milk Chocolate Covered Maple Walnut Eggs
Mix 1lb confectioner's sugar, 4 T butter, 1/2 c dark (Grade B) maple syrup, and 1/2 c. chopped walnuts. shape into eggs. Dip in melted, tempered milk chocolate. Makes 18 dozen medium eggs.

White Chocolate Covered Raspberry Truffle Eggs
Mix 8oz. milk chocolate in a double boiler with 2 T heavy cream, 2T butter, and 2T raspberry jam. Let cool to be able to handle the mixture, then shape into small eggs and let cool to room temperature. Dip in melted, tempered white chocolate. Make 1 dozen small eggs.

Milk Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs
Mix 1lb confectioner's sugar, 1 stick of softened butter, and 2 cups peanut buttter. Shape into eggs. Dip in melted, tempered milk chocolate. Makes 1 dozen large eggs.

Tempering chocolate - I use the seed method - I melt 1.5 lb chocolate in a double boiler, then remove it from the stove and add another .5lb of chocolate, which has been cut up. I stir until it is all melted. Tempering chocolate avoids "bloom" - markings that develop on the surface of the chocolate. Be careful to avoid allowing any water to get into the chocolate too.

Chocolate Bunnies - after I dip the eggs, I pour the remaining melted chocolate into bunny molds, plastic molds that I picked up online from candy supply stores. We'll have white, dark, and milk chocolate bunnies this year of all sizes from 1 inch tall to 6" of solid deliciousness. I wrap these in colored foils and put them in the Easter baskets for our kids- and one for Bob too.