Chocolate Dipped Easter Eggs

Every holiday has "traditional" foods or treats that you wouldn't want to go without. Think ahead about these dishes so you can have the ingredients on-hand as part of your 3-month storage. In the early Fall, I think ahead about Thanksgiving and Christmas. After Christmas, I think through to Valentines Day and Easter. I also think about Birthdays and make sure we are ready for those as well. You get the idea - These dipped Easter Eggs are a favorite at our house and at the Easter Egg Hunt with the extended family. They are a little time intensive, but I stretch it out over a few days so it doesn't seem so bad. I make the fillings one day and then shape them and store them covered in our extra fridge. Then we dip them a little at a time over the week ahead of Easter.

Here's the coconut cream eggs.

Here's the chocolate and peanut butter eggs all formed and ready to chill.

To dip, stab a toothpick into each egg and dip in melted chocolate. Use an additional toothpick to help you transfer it to your tray and remove the first toothpick.

Add sprinkles while the chocolate is still soft. You can also drizzle with colored chocolate instead of using the sprinkles. I use different sprinkles for the different fillings so we can tell them apart.

They look so festive and fun! Believe it or not - everything is storable for at least 3 months.

Using a hand mixer speeds up the process when you are making the fillings.

Coconut Cream Filling

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups coconut

1-2 cups additional coconut -add at the end

Mix filling ingredients. Knead additional coconut in at the end until it is as full of coconut as you like. I like it heavy on the coconut. Shape into eggs and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until hardened. Makes 36 small eggs.

Chocolate Filling

1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding

1/3 cup boiling water

1/3 cup butter

3 cups powdered sugar

Stir together pudding mix, boiling water and butter until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in powdered sugar. Refrigerate mixture until firm enough to mold into egg shapes. Shape into eggs and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until hardened. Makes about 24 small eggs.

Peanut Butter Filling

1 cup peanut butter

6 Tbsp butter

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar together until creamy. Form into small eggs and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until hardened. Makes 24 small eggs.

Chocolate Coating

5 cups milk chocolate chips

2 Tbsp shortening

Melt chocolate chips with the shortening in the microwave for 2–3 minutes on high, stirring every 20–30 seconds. Dip egg shapes into the chocolate and return to the waxed paper. (This works best if you stab each egg with a toothpick before dipping. Decorate with sprinkles or drizzles of white chocolate. Refrigerate to harden. Melt additional chocolate, if needed.