i make something sugary for (almost) every holiday and for easter, it's peanut butter eggs. these things are so wonderfully toothache-inducingly delicious. but they're so rich, i can't eat them (note that i look forward to easter for one reason--the cadbury creme egg. why i can stand to eat those things and not a PB egg, i don't know)...or at least a whole one. my rule of thumb when baking vast amounts of fat friendly treats for the holidays: make sure it's something i don't like!
i meant to take a series of pictures as i was preparing them yesterday, but airheaded me forgot. it's not hard to imagine a small egg shaped chocolate. they sorta look like bigger versions of reese's eggs. except better. ha! this year, i enveloped the peanut buttery goodness with both white and milk chocolates (ok, it's chocolate flavored bark, whatevs). so good (say 'good' like sonny chiba in kill bill. at least that's what it sounds like in my head). the recipe is really easy, so i'll share...this is off the top of my head:
peanut butter eggs (this recipe can be halved)
2 sticks salted butter, room temp. (do NOT cheap-out and use margarine)
2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 lbs. confectioner's sugar (large bag)
4 T. milk (+ more, if needed)
salt (optional/to taste. i love reese's because they are salty. so i add lots of salt. don't get carried away and dump a shitload into your dough though. add it gradually. i know it's common sense, but some people don't have it--no offense. hehe)
white &/or milk chocolate coating (found near the chocolate chips, sometimes it's called 'bark')
if you forget or are lazy like i am and don't have the patience for room temperature butter, just zap it in the microwave for 12 second increments until soft. cream butter and peanut butter. gradually add confectioner's sugar, when dough gets difficult to stir, add milk a little at a time. once the dough comes together, knead it with your hands to make sure all the ingredients are mixed well. this is when you want to add salt if you want them to be...um...salty.
you will need two large wax paper lined cookie trays. be sure you have enough room in your freezer for these trays. scoop dough with a small ice cream scooper to get uniform size. you will then need to roll each scoop in your hands into the shape of an egg. place each egg on the wax paper. i usually get 32-35 eggs out of this dough. once you are done scooping, place the egg trays in the freezer to firm. keep them in there until you are ready to coat in chocolate.
melt the bark in a small saucepan on low, stirring constantly. once melted, put burner on simmer. if the heat is too high the bark will begin to get chunky and separate. believe me, it's ugly. take one tray of eggs from the freezer. loosen them from the wax paper and pile them up on one side. you will be using the same tray to lay the eggs on once they're coated, so you'll need the room. i hold the saucepan off of the burner in one hand and drop the eggs in (one at a time! two is one too many when doing this. it'll create egg chaos). using a tablespoon pour chocolate over the egg so it's fully coated. shake the pan as if you were popping popcorn to "smooth it out". remove the egg with the tablespoon, shake excess chocolate off, and place onto wax paper. repeat until finis (don't forget about that second tray in the freezer!). let chocolate set...this doesn't have to be done in the freezer. just leave them on the trays on the counter. be sure to keep an eye on them, they tend to disappear...and if you have overtly curious cats, well, you see where i'm going with that.
i use plain old cupcake liners to line these with. you can either share these with others or pig out at home and go into a diabetic coma. whatever. it's your choice! be sure you store them in an air-tight container in the 'fridge. you don't want them to melt on you.
ENJOY!
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