Hand-Crafted Chocolate Easter Eggs

When our kids were young, my sister-in-law Carolyn and I started making our own chocolate Easter eggs.  I had come across a recipe that seemed simple enough and we gave it a try.  Our first egg-making experiment was a lot of fun.  We spread out all over the kitchen and it was a production. I mixed up the filling.  The kids molded the dough-like substance into oval orbs, and my sister-in-law Carolyn dipped the eggs in melted chocolate.  This activity became an annual event, and all the kids got involved.  We had a great time working together, molding the eggs, cooling them in the fridge, and immersing them in melted chocolate.  The filling was made of a creamy buttercream base with different flavors added: peanut butter, coconut, and mint.  I got fancy and piped little flowers on top, to make them look like the store-bought version.  The special creations weren't put in Easter baskets.  Rather, they took center stage on pretty platters, as evidence of the pride we took in making something special and the fun we had doing it.

Hand-crafted Chocolate Easter Eggs

Filling:
1/4 lb. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 lbs. Confectioner's Sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Coating:  12 ounces of milk or dark chocolate (your preference) or candy-melts.  Believe it or not, the original recipe called for 1/4 bar of paraffin to be melted with the chocolate (!) to make the coating very glossy, but I wouldn't do that now! 

Filling flavors: 1 1/2 cups peanut butter OR 15 ounces flaked coconut OR 1/2 tsp. mint extract and a few drops pink or green food coloring (or diviide the filling and use proportionately less of individual flavorings to make an assortment).

Beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla extract.  Slowly add confectioner's sugar until it is all incorporated.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in filling flavor ingredient until it is very well mixed in.  Using about 1/4 cup filling, mold into eggs (powder your hands with confectioners sugar if necessary).  Place on parchment- or wax paper-lined cookie sheet.  Place in refrigerator for an hour or more.

Genlty melt chocolate over double boiler or in microwave.  Using toothpicks, dip chilled eggs into melted chocolate.  Return to parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Cool completely in refrigerator.


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