I KNOW these are my favorite Easter treat. When I start seeing the Cadbury Bunny commercial on television, I know it’s getting close to time to make these. This year, I decided to see if I could change my usual recipe over to fit our more natural diet. I haven’t made these since Annie was born, and boy have I missed them. I’m chowing down on one right now…..
Sure the Reece eggs in the store are awesome…but for me, there is just something about homemade peanut butter eggs. They’re special. They taste different. They make you do crazy things, like hide them in the fridge and only eat them when Annie is asleep.
Sugar – these always call for a good amount of powdered sugar. Since I quit using white sugars and started using sucanat instead, I’ve been making my own powdered sugar using the sucanat. You can see how I do that in this post about Chocolate Peanut Butter.
You can use whatever sugar you have – powdered sugar that you have already or you can make your own from what’s in your cabinet. Just give it a whirl in the blender, baby! You’ll need 4 cups total. I’ve found that powdered sugar measures cup for cup with granulated. So, I have to blend 4 cups of sucanat to get 4 cups of sucanat powdered sugar. I’m getting all scientific.
What else will you need? Creamy peanut butter (homemade or store bought), melted butter, and milk. Go ahead and melt your butter so it’s ready to go when you are!
PS – I only have one bit of my egg left…I’m trying to eat it slow and savor it. *Burp!*
Now, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the peanut butter, melted butter, and powdered sugar. It will be very stiff, so you need to start adding milk to get it to come together. I add a little sugar and then a little milk…otherwise you will have a mess with flinging sugar all over the kitchen. Or so I’ve heard from OTHER PEOPLE. *Cough*
The amount of milk you will need will vary. It’s based on all sorts of things – the weather, your sugar, your mood, the peanut butter, the way the sun is shining, and what day of the year it is. You just need it to be the consistency of play dough. You should be able to mold it and get it to stick together without sticking to your hands. I usually use between 4-8 tablespoons of milk. Add them 1 tablespoon at a time to ensure you don’t add too much.
When you have the right consistency, you can start to mold your mixture into eggs and place them on a pan. It’ s a good idea to play an episode of Sesame Street while you do this part…or else your toddler will want to help – and she will end up eating more than helping. I myself would never, ever partake of peanut butter dough before it was ready. *Cough*
I don’t have very good skills at making egg shapes. But I really don’t care what shape they are as long as they’re in my tummy. Amen.
Stick your pans in the freezer for about an hour. It will let them get nice and firm so they’re easier to dip.
I’d like to be real specific on this part, but I can’t be. Sorry. It’s time to melt the chocolate, but how you do this will really depend on what type of chocolate you’re using. I used dark chocolate chips. Because of that, I added some coconut oil to make sure my chocolate was runny and smooth enough to dip. Do I always add oil? Nope. If you use almond bark to dip, then you won’t need oil at all. I used 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to 3 cups of chocolate chips.
Keep in mind that if you do use oil, the chocolate will be a bit soft when it sets up. I’m cool with that….I like it like that.
If you want to be proper, you should use a double boiler to melt the chocolate. I’m not proper, so I just used a regular saucepan. Be careful not to get any water in it or let it get too hot. That will cause it to seize up. For solutions about seized chocolate, see this post from About.com.
Dip each egg down into the chocolate and make sure it’s covered completely. I used a bamboo skewer to dip mine, by sticking it into the end and then shaking it off on the pan. I will admit that by the time I was done, I had chocolate all over my hands, face, and arms. But that’s okay, I just licked it off. Oh come on…you know you do it too. Once dipped, transfer your eggs back to the pan to let them set up.
How long they take to set up will depend on the temperature in your kitchen and the humidity level. I let mine set out overnight because it was warm in the house. They were still a bit soft in the morning, but I prefer my chocolate a bit soft. I store them in the fridge so I don’t worry about them melting…not that they wouldn’t get eaten. Chocolate should never be wasted. I think that’s in the Bible somewhere isn’t it?
I realize mine aren’t all that glorious looking…but we just like to eat them. You could decorate them with sprinkles, royal icing, or melted white chocolate. If I’m giving them out to people, I wrap each one in a piece of plastic wrap, like a present. And what a glorious present, indeed!
I like to take mine out and let them soften a bit at room temperature before I eat them. Yes, I get chocolate all over my hands…but I usually lick it off. 😉
*NOTE: You can make these any time of year in whatever shape you like.
See also my Buckeyes recipe.
Peanut Butter Eggs
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 4-8 tablespoons milk
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- In the stand bowl of a mixer, combine the peanut butter, sugar, melted butter, and milk.
- Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until you get a play-dough consistency. You should be able to mold it into shapes without it sticking to your hands.
- Form the dough into egg shapes and place them on pans. Put the pans in the freezer for 1 hour to firm up.
- Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil on the stove in a double boiler or saucepan.
- Dip each egg in chocolate, covering completely. Return to pan and allow chocolate to set up.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Yield – about 30 small eggs
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This reminds me of my peanut butter balls recipe. I never though using it as a reese’s egg knock off. Thanks for your inspiration! Now following!
So much better than the store bought! 🙂
I made these today and they are a huge hit! Now I don’t have to buy Reese eggs anymore. Yeah!
Yeah, indeed! 🙂 I’m tickled pink that you liked them!
Making these right now! Actually, they’re in the freezer. I have to find some mission to send my seven kiddos on for a little while so I can dip them without being seen. They’re a treat for tomorrow.
And whaaaaaaa! I can’t lick my fingers, because my nursing baby can’t stomach peanut butter OR chocolate OR milk. Sometimes life plays dirty tricks. DIRTY tricks!
Thanks for the recipe! You rock…cuz that’s how you roll.
Thanks! 🙂 I think you’re stinkin’ awesome too!
Stacy,
These are just awesome Peanut Butter Eggs and just in time for the Bunny Basket. Hope you have a fabulous Celebration Week End and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Oh YUM!
No kidding! 🙂
Ok- I saw this post this morning and just finished the batch right now… SO so good. And of course, I exercised complete self-restraint just like you and didn’t sample a single bite of the ‘dough’ while I was shaping the eggs. *a-hem* Thank you thank you for this idea!! Hubby is gonna be so happy when he gets home. 😉
Erm– maybe I should clarify. When I said I just finished the batch, I meant I just finished making them, not eating the entire batch.
Although I can’t say that there will be many left by the weekend… 😉
LOL Uh huh. You shouldn’t lie to your friends.
🙂 Barry was quite tickled when he walked in the door too. I’m so glad you like them! I think I’ll go eat another one right now.
I make chocolate covered peanutbutter balls around the Christmas holiday to use as gifts. A super easy way to dip these and not get chocolate all over everything, is to use a plastic fork with the center tines broken off. Just place the peanutbutter on the fork and dip, its very simple. I’m not always crazy about using plastic, but I can wash and re-use the fork each year.
What a FABULOUS tip! 🙂
Hi Stacy! Do you know if I can substitute the chocolate chips with chocolate powder (think Nestle) to make the coating? Also, do you have a recipe for making peanut butter (cannot easily find it where I live in Brazil!) THANKS!
I’ve never coated them with powder. I think they’d be a bit more like truffles that way…but I think it would work! 🙂
You can see the link I have to my chocolate peanut butter in this post above…here is a recipe for homemade Honey Peanut Butter from my friend Mindy: http://thepurposedheart.com/homemade-honey-peanut-butter/
Hope that helps! 🙂
Yummy! I haven’t made any special Easter treats yet this year, but I like to make oatmeal/coconut chocolate “nests” with {gasp} jelly bean eggs. We plan to do that this weekend. I will come visit you for the peanut butter eggs 🙂
I make something similar, but with (gasp!) m&ms. 🙂 http://www.stacymakescents.com/mm-birds-nest-cookies
Yum! I need to make these today :)Chocolate peanut butter anything is my favorite, but especially Choc PB eggs! so I’m pretty sure I might be hiding these in the fridge too 😉
I hope you like them!!! We’re chowing down. 🙂