Recipes

World's Best Chocolate Easter Eggs

These delicious cream filled eggs taste just like a very famous store bought one. They are easy to make and kids and adults love them.

1 cup soft butter

2 tsp salt

4 tsp vanilla

1 can condensed milk (Eagle Brand)

10 cups icing sugar

1 tsp. yellow food coloring

1 lb. semisweet chocolate

Beat butter, salt and vanilla until fluffy. Add milk, beat in sugar. Blend until stiff. Dust with brown sugar. Knead til smooth.

Set aside more then 2/3 of mixture. To the remaining mixture add yellow food coloring. Blend in well. Divide yellow and white into 16 or 24 pieces. Shape yellow into ball, mould white around yellow to form an egg shape. Dry at room temperature on paper towels for 24 hours.

Melt chocolate in double boiler or in microwave until smooth. Dip eggs in chocolate. (paraffin wax may be added and melted with chocolate to prevent chocolate from melting in your hands). Once dipped cool at room temperature. Refrigerate after cool.

When sliced these eggs will have a white cream filling with a yellow filling that appears to be the yolk. They look nice sitting in an Easter basket!!

Easter Crown Bread

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the milk and butter and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes on medium. Add the eggs and 1/2 cup flour and beat on high for 2 minutes.

Stir in the fruit, nuts, and aniseed, mixing well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 6 to 8 minutes). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Meanwhile, color 5 eggs (leave them uncooked) with non-toxic dyes. When dry, lightly rub them with vegetable oil.

Punch down the risen dough. Divide in half. Roll each half into a 24-inch rope. On a greased baking sheet, loosely twist the two ropes together. Form into a ring and pinch the ends together. Gently split the ropes and tuck the 5 colored uncooked eggs into the openings. Cover and let rise again until doubled (about 30 minutes). Bake in a 350-degree F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Tea Cookies

1 3/4 cup all pourpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vinegar
1 egg
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, powder, soda and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream butter with 3/4 cup sugar. Set aside. In a small bowl combine milk and vinegar and add to butter mixture. Add egg and 1 tsp lemon juice. Stir well. Stir in dry ingredients. Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes till golden. Remove to wire rack. In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup lemon juice and stir to form a glaze. While cookies are still warm, brush with glaze. Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

Spring Orange Custards

4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp orange extract, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly. Stir in milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp of the orange extract, and salt. Place 6 ungreased 6-ounce custard cups in a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Divide custard mixture evenly among the cups. set pan on the oven rack. Carefully pour boiling water into the pan around the cups to a depth of 1 inch. Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted at the edge of a cup comes out clean. Remove cups from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
In a small mixing bowl, combine whipping cream, 1/4 tsp orange extract, and 2 tsp sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Spoon on top of the custards. Makes 6 servings.

Easter Nests

In a mixing bowl, combine marshmallow cream, peanut butter, and margarine until smooth. Fold in noodles and M&M's. Chill until easy to handle. On waxed paper, form mixture by 1/3 cupfuls into 3" nests. Chill for 30 minutes. Place several M&M's in each nest.

Bird Nest Cupcakes

Your favorite cupcake mix

Your favorite frosting mix

Long strand coconut

jelly beans (pastel Easter colors)

Bake your cupcakes. When cool frost with white or chocolate frosting. Decorate with coconut around the outside circle of cupcake. Place colored jelly beans in center. Coconut can be toasted if you prefer a brown nest!

Bird's Nests

1 TBSP. solid shortening (Crisco)

1 large can (5oz.) LaChoy thin chow mein noodles

1 bag pastel colored M&M peanut candy

Melt entire bag of chips and 1 tbsp. of shortening slowly in microwave or in double boiler on stove top. If using microwave, heat full power in intervals of 30 seconds at a time and then less as chips begin to melt. You want the chips and shortening to be well blended and creamy and hot. DO NOT OVERCOOK!!!
Immediately pour the can of chow mien noodles into the peanut butter mixture and toss lightly to coat noodles. Avoid crunching noodles. Using a spatula can help. Do this quickly, making sure the noodles are evenly coated. Drop by spoonfuls onto WAX PAPER and gently form into the shape of a nest, leaving a hollowed area in the center in which you immediately place three M&M peanut candies for the "birds eggs".
Helps to have two people! Each batch makes approximately 14 nests.