Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

#FlashbackFriday with one of my favorite childhood Easter treats.

When I sat down to type up this recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Easter Eggs, I really had to think….Are they Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs or Peanut Butter Chocolate Easter Eggs?  What comes first – the chicken or the egg? After much debate with The Husband where he created several of his own names, we both agreed that even though these eggs have more peanut butter than chocolate, chocolate has to come first.  This is a recipe that my mom used to make us as kids as Easter with a modern update lightening up the frosting and replacing the Crisco with Coconut Oil. She would let us go to town with our really awesome decorating skills then convinced us to give away our creations to everyone.  You can see my skills haven’t improved too much over the years but I still love making them.  You could probably put some of your own touches on this recipe adding in rice crispies for crunch, sprinkles for color, coconut, chocolate drizzles…there are endless options when you go to decorate your Easter Eggs this year.

The peanut butter inside is so velvety that it literally melts in your mouth as the chocolate melts on your hands.  The coconut oil adds an extra layer of decadence while the frosting looks like it’s there for decoration. But, let’s be honest, it’s there because who doesn’t love licking the frosting off the top.

Happy Easter all!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER EASTER EGGS (print it!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (a 1 lb box)
• 8 oz milk or dark chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• frosting, optional – recipe below

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Using a mixer or stand mixer, cream together peanut butter, condensed milk, sea salt and vanilla for about 1 minute until combined.  Turn speed to low and mix in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.  As you get to the last cup the mix will become very firm.  If needed, pour everything onto the counter top and knead in the remaining powdered sugar until it’s mixed through.  The mixture should be firm, but, not sticky.
2. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.  Scoop 1 tablespoon balls out of the peanut butter mix and make egg shapes setting each one on the wax paper.  Once complete, freeze for 1 hour or put in the fridge to chill for several hours.
3. Fill the bottom pan of a double boiler with hot water or fill a medium sauce pan half full with water.  Place the top pan of the double boiler or use a bowl on top of the sauce pan.  Pour in chocolate and coconut oil.  Heat over medium low heat until the chocolate is melted.  Turn heat off then remove eggs from freezer.
4. Use a fork and spoon to dunk one egg at a time coating in chocolate then use the fork to shake off excess chocolate and place back on the cookie sheet. You will need to whisk the chocolate and occassionally reheat to keep it thin in between eggs.  Repeat until all eggs are coated.  Chill the chocolate covered eggs for one hour then decorate with flowers, squiggles, names or however you like.  Store in the fridge.

Makes 44 small eggs for 6 smartpoints each

Nutritional information per egg (excluding frosting)

NOTE:  I list the frosting recipe separately and do not include the nutrition above for two reasons.  You may not want to decorate your eggs and you will only use about 1/2 of the recipe below.

EASY VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (print it!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup softened butter with salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 Tbsp 1% milk
• food coloring, optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients beating on slow speed.  Once mixed, beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Divide evenly into as many bowls as you want to make colors and add desired number of drops to achieve the color, about 3-5 drops works.  I made 5 colors: pink, yellow, green and bowl.  Once I was finished with pink and blue, I combined them to make purple.
3. Use a ziploc or frosting bag with a small hole cut into it.  Add your decorating tip plus frosting…squeeze and go.

Makes about 2 cups frosting or 32 Tablespoons, 2 SmartPoints per Tablespoon (you probably will only use about 1 tsp or less on each egg)

STEP BY STEP:

Make up the peanut butter filling by mixing the peanut butter, condensed milk, salt, vanilla and powdered sugar until well combined.

Form your “Easter Eggs” by scooping up 1 tbsp balls and making them into egg shapes.  Be sure to place them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to keep them from sticking to the pan.

Chill for 1 hour in the freezer or several hours in the fridge.  When you are ready to dunk your eggs, heat water in your double broiler and add the chocolate/coconut oil over medium low heat.

Once everything is nicely melted, combined and smooth, remove from heat and begin dunking eggs.

I’ll be honest, it’s a bit tricky and you need to work quickly.  Drop you egg, spin it, then, use the fork to shake off the excess chocolate and the spoon to slide it back onto the pan.

I’ll show you my eggs as they are far from perfect the way my Mom’s always turned out.  My decorating skills are just ok, but, my chocolate dunking skills are pretty bad lol.

The way I see it, the extra chocolate at the bottom is a bonus and they do not have to be super smooth as that is what the frosting is for 😉

Chill your eggs for 1 hour, make frosting as noted above, and decorate.  Chill for another hour and you are done.

Tadah…..creamy, peanut buttery, chocolately good.  You will not want to share.

But, these eggs are made for sharing….so, place them in some fun Easter muffin cups, add a little Easter grass and maybe some candy like M&M’s or jelly beans for more color and your friends/family will love you forever.

Just be sure to store them in the fridge as they do tend to get soft as they sit out which is kinda how I like to eat them.

You know I have to ask 😀 ~ What comes first ~ The Peanut Butter or The Chocolate?

Night all!