Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

When I was a little girl, my grandparents would bring each of my siblings a giant See's Easter egg with our name drawn out in beautiful loops of royal icing. This along with the dry roasted peanuts and M and Ms would be the sum total of our Easter candy. It lasted approximately two hours and then it would be weeks before we had candy again. Times have changed. My own charges get so much candy all of the time-sackfulls at birthday parties, rewards after ballet lessons, even lollipops after a visit to the doctor. We have an entire shelf full of Halloween candy, Christmas candy, and Valentine's candy that no one is particularly interested in eating. Instead of buying more candy that would inevitably end up un-eaten, we decided to make our own candy this year. Homemade candy is special, even in this age of plentiful sweets.(Although I confess that I did buy the M and Ms and plain roasted peanuts for nostalgic reasons.) The favorite candy around here, and one that we never have on hand for long, is Peanut Butter Cups. They are so easy, delicious, and inexpensive to make, plus they look adorable shaped as Easter Eggs. You still have time to make some. Whatever candy is in your baskets tomorrow, may your holiday be endearingly sweet. Happy Easter!

Money Saving Tips:

Look for quality chocolate at a good price for dipping. If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's, then buy some of the Belgian milk chocolate. I used melted Hershey bar's since I still have a cupboard full. This makes a big batch, so you'll have plenty to share.

Form the dough into egg shapes and freeze. You can also make fudge centers, if you like.Dip in chocolate. You can use milk, dark, or white chocolate. I like to use all three. Chill to set. Decorate as desired.

Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

Estimated Cost: about $7.00 for 30

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup peanut butter

about 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar

generous pinch of salt

1-2 cups crisp rice cereal

about 12 ounces milk chocolate

In a medium bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar and salt. Add more powdered sugar if needed to form a very soft dough, like the texture of playdough. If desired add rice cereal for crunch. Form into egg shapes and freeze for at least two hours. Melt chocolate in a medium bowl. I melt mine very slowly in the microwave. Dip eggs in chocolate to coat. Place on waxed paper and chill until set. Decorate with melted candy melts if desired.

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