Peanut Butter Eggs

Peanut Butter lovers, this one's for you!!!

I'm always on the look out for new and fun recipes that I can do with the kids.  I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Easter Eggs on Allrecipes and thought I would try it - and change it like I do with most recipes.

Original recipe can be found here   

It's basically a peanut butter ball, coated in chocolate and decorated to look like an easter egg. How bad could that be? My recipe is different than the one linked to here. I changed the recipe based on what I had on hand and my personal taste.  Here's what you'll need:

milk, peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, chocolate (white and semi-sweet), *salt, *canola or vegetable oil, *food coloring, mixing bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoon, stirring spoons, *wax paper, *cookie sheet, *plastic sandwich bag, and *bamboo skewers

* - not pictured, because I found out I needed them as I went along.

First, take 1/2 stick of butter, melt it and pour it into your mixing bowl.

Then measure out peanut butter. I used creamy, but you can use crunchy. Whatever floats your boat. :)Microwave on high for 1 minute and then pour into mixing bowl. 



sticky stuff



much easier to pour when it's hot

Then add milk and powdered sugar. (I also added a dash of salt, because I think peanut butter and salt are good friends. :D )





Stir until combined.

keep stirring . . .

and stirring . . .

and stirring

At this point I thought it was too dry. So, I grabbed a handful . . .

and sqeezed it in my hand. It held it's shape,  

 but broke apart easily when I moved it.

So, I added more peanut butter, and more milk.

And I tested it again. It was a much smoother dough this time, and didn't break so easily.

Then just shape them any way you want. I did mine in egg shapes, but the kids found that difficult, so they made "potatoes" and "rocks." Once the shapes are made, place them on wax paper.

If you do want to make eggs, this is how I did it. I found it easiest to make a ball and then roll one end skinnier than the other and then use my fingers to pinch the top. 

                                    

My daughter also shaped them on the wax paper/cookie sheet. Whatever is easiest!

Get everyone involved! Handsome Man, Princess and Angel Girl all were eager to help. - Baby Girl is still too small. She sat nearby and watched. :)

It made a total of 33 eggs/potatoes/rocks. :)

Put them in the freezer for 1/2 hour. When they are ready, put chocolate (semi-sweet, or dark or milk - again, whatever floats your boat!) in a bowl with some vegetable oil and melt in the microwave. Do this in 30 second intervals, stirring every thirty seconds. DO NOT USE BUTTER!! It has too much water in it, and it will make your chocolate seize. Like this:

 DON'T MAKE MY MISTAKES. Do it right the first time. Use something with 100% fat (like Canola oil, or vegetable oil, or shortening). Then you'll get pretty melted chocolate like this:

When the shapes are cold, skewer them and cover them with the melted chocolate. The chocolate must be HOT. I melted my chocolate when I put the eggs in the freezer. So, when I went to cover the first couple eggs, my chocolate wasn't hot enough and it hardened too quickly. Those eggs aren't so pretty! Again, DON'T MAKE MY MISTAKES. Make sure your chocolate it hot.

 I used a second skewer to help me get the egg onto the wax paper.

When they are all covered (I had enough chocolate to do 28 out of my 33 shapes). Then you can embellish them with melted white chocolate and a little food coloring. Any color you choose. Green is the only color I had - it happens to be my favorite.

 Put a plastic baggie in a cup and fill with melted white chocolate. Close bag, snip a corner and decorate!

By the way, you can completely skip covering them in chocolate, if you don't like chocolate (for those of you who are completely opposite of me), or can't have chocolate (so sorry for you unfortunate souls). Or, if you prefer, you can just cover them in white chocolate.  Or, easier yet, just decorate them naked (the shapes are naked - not you . . . unless you're into that sort of thing. I don't judge.)

When the eggs are all dressed in Easter colors- if you can refrain from eating them all first - you can display them on some green coconut grass (shredded coconut with green food coloring mixed in). Super Cute!

I didn't have any coconut, so I just used my daughter's decorative metal basket.

I know. They're not anywhere near as cute as the professionally done ones pictured @ the start of my post, but they're made by me and my kids - and that makes them more special! :)

Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter Eggs

1 1/2 C peanut butter, melted

1/2 stick(1/4 cup) butter, melted

dash of salt

2 Tablespoons milk

16 oz (1 pound) powdered sugar

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 3 handfuls)

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup white chocolate

food coloring

Combine peanut butter, butter, salt, milk and powdered sugar in large mixing bowl. Dough will look crumbly (test by sqeezing some in your hand). Roll into ball (the warmth of your hand helps it stay smooth) and shape into any shape you want. Put on cookie sheet lined with wax paper and freeze for 30 minutes.

When shapes are cool, melt oil and semi-sweet chocolate in microwave (30 second intervals). When chocolate is melted, skewer shapes and cover with chocolate. Put them back on the wax paper to set.

Melt white chocolate in a small bowl, in the microwave (30 second intervals). When melted, add desired food coloring and pour melted white chocolate into a zip top disposable bag. Snip a tiny section off of one corner. Decorate shapes any way you like.

Disclaimer:  I finished this post as I probably will mos posts - one handed with a fussy baby. So, I appologize for any silly mistakes/typos. :)