Buttercream Eggs

 

I'll admit it... I'm cheating. I did not actually make these. At least not this year.  Sadly, now that the girls and I have relocated to Pittsburgh and are staying in a 1 bedroom apartment while we find a permanent residence, most (albeit all) of my baking equipment is in NC. Bummer. I'm really upset about my now inability to bake and the fact that I can't make these super yummy Buttercream eggs that I LOVE to make and eat for Easter. My mom would make these for Easter and I was really excited about keeping up that tradition with my family. So the fact that I can't make them stinks! But I did take pictures when I made them last year for Easter so I will just use those.

 Buttercream Ingredients

These are really easy and simple to make and only use 4 ingredients (counting the chocolate they are dipped in). I prefer to make these using the KitchenAid mixer, but you could use a hand mixer too. The first step is to soften your butter. You want it room temperature NOT melted. Once it's soft toss it in the bowl. I usually will give the butter a spin just so it's already a bit stirred. In my opinion it helps with the mixing. Then you SLOWLY add the confectioners sugar to your butter. You want to be mixing as you add the sugar.

Mixing in the Confectioners Sugar

Once the sugar is all mixed in, you add your teaspoon of vanilla. Stir for an extra minute to make sure the vanilla is evenly mixed. Now the fun part! Take small amounts of your 'dough' and with your clean hands, roll and form it into egg shapes.  It is up to you how big or small you want to make them. Place the eggs on a cookie or baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for a couple of hours until they are nice and firm. The colder they are, the easier they will be to dip.

My not so uniform 'eggs'

Once your eggs have chilled and hardened you can start melting your chocolate.  I like using Nestle Semi-Sweet chocolate chips, but you can use whatever chocolate or candy melts you like.  I also typically use a double boiler to melt my chocolate. I have had not so great experience with burning chocolate in the microwave.

MMM Melted goodness

 

Once your chocolate is melted, you take your buttercream eggs one by one and dip them into the chocolate making sure they are totally covered. I've found that sticking a toothpick in the egg and dipping it is pretty easy. Though this time, I was out and used two spoons to roll the egg through the chocolate.  Once it's covered you want to let some of the excess chocolate drip off before placing the egg back on the parchment paper. After you've dipped all the eggs, place them back into the fridge until the chocolate hardens. 

All Dipped!

Now you want to keep these stored in the fridge. I pop them off the tray and keep them in a Tupperware container. I'm not really sure how long these stay good for since they RARELY make it past a week in my house. 

Recipe

1 Stick of Butter (Softened NOT melted)

1 Box (1LB) Powdered/Confectioners Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

12-24oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips *I like a thick covering of chocolate so it's better to have more*

Soften Butter

Using mixer, add in all Confectioners Sugar

Add in the teaspoon of Vanilla Extract and mix well

Taking small amounts of your dough, form into egg shapes

Place on parchment paper and refrigerate until firm.

Melt Chocolate using double boiler

Dip eggs one by one into chocolate coating well

Place back on parchment paper and refrigerate until chocolate hardens

Keep in fridge!

 

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter and I hope you all like this recipe!