Something Delicious and Different for your Easter Table 🐰

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018

I made these Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs last year. My blog was pretty new at the time, so I am guessing most of you haven’t seen that post. I talked about my grandmother as the inspiration for making these decorated eggs. She was rather unique, so if you are interested, take a look at those first couple of paragraphs💕

This is barely a recipe, they are that easy! You can find numerous recipes for homemade Reese’s all over the internet. I followed The Recipe Critics formula. Simply combine smooth peanut butter, powdered sugar, melted butter and a small amount of milk. Mix on low speed with a paddle attachment, the dough will be crumbly and that is ok!

Pull the dough together on a floured board and roll out to, roughly, 1/2 inch thickness. Use an egg shaped cutter to stamp out the shapes. I didn’t have one, so I made templates out of parchment paper. I traced around the circumference of a large egg and cut out the patterns.

I then used the templates, and a sharp knife, to make the peanut butter eggs.

The eggs need to be refrigerated for, at least an hour. This will help with the chocolate dipping process. Melt 1 bag of milk chocolate chips with 1 Tablespoon of shortening. The shortening will give the eggs a nice shine.

I used a fork to submerge the eggs into the chocolate. I did have to use a second bag of chips to have enough chocolate coating for 21 eggs.

Honestly, you could stop right here and devour these after the chocolate sets. There is no shame in that 😋 Your family and friends would be thrilled with them, just as they are!

This is a giant Reese’s Cup!

If you want to go the extra step, this is how I decorated my eggs. I used a royal icing recipe that makes a firm consistency. Some royal icing formulas are soft and have a marshmallow type texture. Delicious, to be sure, but those won’t hold the definition of the piping tips particularly well. You will have softer lines, like the leaves in this picture.

They are leaves, but without veins. My icing was too warm at this point 😞

I like Antonia74’s recipe for this project. It is still tasty, but with a stronger consistency.

I made a batch, divided it up and started coloring! The icing was bagged up, with a variety of flower tips, and I was ready to go.

I like to use disposable bags with coupler attachments. I can then change my flower tips to make different colored flowers, lines and flower petals.

It may take a few tries for you to get the look you want. I tend to practice a few times on my cutting board or parchment paper to see how the flowers will look before moving to the eggs. If you do make a mistake, not big deal! Wait for the icing to dry and pop it off the surface of the chocolate!

This is a better example of leaves with the details I wanted. See the veins in the leaves?

As I said before, if you don’t have the time for all the decorating, just eat them plain! I want to wish you all a Happy Easter🐰🐥💕!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Easter eggs

Servings: About 20 large eggs
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Beautiful, festive and with all the taste of a Reese's peanut butter cup! These Eggs will be the highlight of your Easter Buffet

Credit: The Recipe Critic and invisible-no-more.com

Ingredients

-3 cups Powdered sugar

-1 and 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

-1/4 cup butter, melted

-2 Tablespoons milk

-1 to 2 bags milk chocolate chips

-1 to 2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening

Directions

Beat together powdered sugar, peanut butter, and butter together. At this point the dough will be crumbly. Add two tablespoons of milk and continue to beat together until the dough softens. If the dough still seems crumbly that is ok.
On a floured surface, roll the dough out to desired thickness. About ½ thickness. You can use egg cookie cutters or with a knife, shape the dough to look like eggs.
Place eggs on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer for an hour.
When you are ready to dip them, add the chocolate and 1 Tbsp shortening in a microwave and melt 30 seconds at a time. Stirring it after every 30 seconds and being careful not to cook the chocolate to burn. Of, melt chocolate and shortening over a double boiler
Dip each egg in chocolate. I used a fork to help cover in the chocolate. Place them on parchment paper to set.
If more chocolate is needed, melt the second bag with the shortening. Enjoy!

Antonia74's Royal Icing recipe

Ingredients

-3/4 cup warm water

-5 Tablespoons meringue powder

-1 teaspoon cream of tartar

-1 kilogram (2.25 pounds) of powdered sugar

Directions

In a mixing bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened…about 30 seconds.
Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.
Pour in all the powdered sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer.
Using the paddle attachment on the LOWEST speed, mix slowly for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.
When the icing is just sitting on the counter, be sure to cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel or paper towel, to prevent crusting and drying.
Tint with food coloring* or thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.

*I prefer gel colors so they will not change the consistency of the icing, and the colors are more intense.