My all-time favorite Easter candy? A Reese's Peanut Butter Egg. Yep. Actually its probably Brian's, too. Don't ask me why the eggs taste that much better than just a regular Reese's cup--but they do. I also think that Easter sort of gets the shaft for recipes. I mean other than some pastel colored egg or flower or rabbit shaped sugar cookies--what is there to really make? Now why I haven't thought to make my own Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs before, I don't know. I will say, they are a little work. And they do call for quite a few ingredients that are on the more expensive side (but these days in China, which desserts don't?!). But these are so good and so fun to make. My kids helped with everything except dipping into the melted chocolate. I used a no-bake bar recipe that I had for these and just made them into eggs instead. So if you don't want the work of shaping and dipping the eggs, just make this stuff anyway and serve it as bars! You'll be glad you did! This recipe is a little different than the Peanut Butter Cup recipe I make at Christmas. Its actually a little more the consistency of a real Reese's cup. The other ones have a creamier center, which I also love. You could totally make these as cups too, following the directions in the other post. Hope you enjoy!
Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs*
1 cup melted butter
2-3 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar (milk, dark, semi-sweet--all work)
4-6 tsp shortening or peanut butter
*I substitute digestives or "breakfast cookies" here in China for graham cracker crumbs.
Mix together powdered sugar, peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Refrigerate this mixture for about an hour. It will make it much easier to work with.
Once dough is chilled, make balls using about 1-1 1/2 Tbs of the dough (we used about 1 1/2 Tbs/ball and got 45 regular sized eggs). Then shape the ball into a flatter, oblong egg shape. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, wax paper, or a Silpat. Place shaped peanut butter onto cookie sheet.
Freeze on cookie sheets for about 1 hour. Again, this will make them much easier to work with when dipping into the chocolate.
Working with 1 cup of chocolate chips or chunks at a time, place into a small microwave safe bowl. Add 2 tsp shortening or peanut butter (this just makes the chocolate smoother and stir together nicer). Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring well after each time until chocolate melts. Don't over heat. You can also do this in a double boiler on the stove if you don't have a microwave.
You may want to set your bowl of melted chocolate inside a larger bowl with a little hot water in it. This will help keep the chocolate from thickening too much. But don't let the water get in your chocolate or it will seize up! (Not that I know this from experience! Ha!) This step is not absolutely necessary by any means.
Dip eggs in chocolate using a fork to flip and get out. Tap lightly on edge of bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Using a knife, scrape egg off fork onto parchment paper. Allow to harden. Repeat process as needed with more chocolate (I used about 3 cups for all the eggs). You will notice I'm not a huge perfectionist on how my eggs look--I just want them to taste good! The less chocolate in your bowl, the more you'll kind of be scraping it onto the eggs. Once eggs have hardened and cooled, stack in a storage container with layers of parchment or wax paper. Refrigerate eggs for best results.
No-Bake Bar Variation
Mix up first 4 ingredients. Press into parchment-lined 9x13 pan. Melt together 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks and 1 Tbs shortening or peanut butter. Pour over peanut butter layer and smooth out. Refrigerate 2 hours or so until well set. Using a cerated knife, score chocolate layer into size bars you want. If you aren't careful the chocolate will crack where you don't want it to. Serve and enjoy!
Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs*
1 cup melted butter
2-3 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar (milk, dark, semi-sweet--all work)
4-6 tsp shortening or peanut butter
*I substitute digestives or "breakfast cookies" here in China for graham cracker crumbs.
Mix together powdered sugar, peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Refrigerate this mixture for about an hour. It will make it much easier to work with.
Once dough is chilled, make balls using about 1-1 1/2 Tbs of the dough (we used about 1 1/2 Tbs/ball and got 45 regular sized eggs). Then shape the ball into a flatter, oblong egg shape. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, wax paper, or a Silpat. Place shaped peanut butter onto cookie sheet.
Freeze on cookie sheets for about 1 hour. Again, this will make them much easier to work with when dipping into the chocolate.
Working with 1 cup of chocolate chips or chunks at a time, place into a small microwave safe bowl. Add 2 tsp shortening or peanut butter (this just makes the chocolate smoother and stir together nicer). Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring well after each time until chocolate melts. Don't over heat. You can also do this in a double boiler on the stove if you don't have a microwave.
You may want to set your bowl of melted chocolate inside a larger bowl with a little hot water in it. This will help keep the chocolate from thickening too much. But don't let the water get in your chocolate or it will seize up! (Not that I know this from experience! Ha!) This step is not absolutely necessary by any means.
Dip eggs in chocolate using a fork to flip and get out. Tap lightly on edge of bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Using a knife, scrape egg off fork onto parchment paper. Allow to harden. Repeat process as needed with more chocolate (I used about 3 cups for all the eggs). You will notice I'm not a huge perfectionist on how my eggs look--I just want them to taste good! The less chocolate in your bowl, the more you'll kind of be scraping it onto the eggs. Once eggs have hardened and cooled, stack in a storage container with layers of parchment or wax paper. Refrigerate eggs for best results.
No-Bake Bar Variation
Mix up first 4 ingredients. Press into parchment-lined 9x13 pan. Melt together 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks and 1 Tbs shortening or peanut butter. Pour over peanut butter layer and smooth out. Refrigerate 2 hours or so until well set. Using a cerated knife, score chocolate layer into size bars you want. If you aren't careful the chocolate will crack where you don't want it to. Serve and enjoy!
yum. thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna try to make this for sure! I'm just hesitant about the melting chocolate part, last time that was a disaster for me, how many times do you do the 30 seconds in the microwave. I think I overcooked it.
ReplyDeleteJessica--probably no more than 2 minutes. If even. I usually do about 30 seconds for the first go round then a little shorter after that and stir REALLY well after each zap. You can really almost stir out the lumps rather than melting them out! Also, you can use a smaller amount, shave it/cut it small and do it in a bowl over boiled water too.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I just found your website and I love it. We just made this recipe for valentines day. I pressed the peanut butter dough out onto a cookie sheet about 1/4 inch thick and put it the freezer for a bit. Then we used a cookie cutter to cut it into hearts before we dipped it into chocolate. My daughter loved them. Thanks again!
ReplyDeletei made these last year and it was a big hit! It's a tradition my mother always did with me as a kid and now i get to share it with my Chinese friend! Thanks for posting your recipe!
ReplyDelete