Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
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Growing up, I absolutely loved digging through all the goodies that made their way into my Easter basket — Malt balls, solid chocolate bunnies, and egg shaped Reese’s peanut butter cups were my staples, and I’d savor the candy until Summer, picking and choosing one item out of my basket to eat each week.
With this spring-like Holiday coming right up, I thought it would be fun to try homemade chocolate peanut butter eggs, and I am so excited at how well they turned out!
The peanut butter filling melts in your mouth and tastes exactly like a Reese’s….maybe better. They honestly didn’t take too long to make either. My only complaint is that this recipe did not make enough!
How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs
Step 1: In a medium saucepan, combine peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar over medium heat.
Let the heat melt everything completely, stirring consistently with a spoon so the bottom doesn’t burn. You should let the mixture bubble just a little.
Step 2: Remove the pan from heat and add in powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until fully incorporated between each amount.
Set the pan aside and let cool to room temperature.
Step 3: Melt chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave at 30 second increments, stirring after each, until fully melted.
Step 4: Using a small spatula, drizzle chocolate into the compartments of an egg shaped silicone mold, being careful to coat the bottom and sides. Refrigerate until hardened.
I found that using a mold was much easier than trying to dip the filling in chocolate, and it made for a much prettier presentation at the end too.
Step 5: Pull chocolate molds out of the fridge and roll peanut butter mixture between hands to create an oval shape. Press into the molds making sure it is flattened and there is space along the side and top of the mold to coat with chocolate.
Step 6: Drizzle remaining chocolate over the molds and coat completely. Let harden for an hour in the fridge before peeling back the silicone and popping them out of the molds. Serve, and store in the fridge for up to a week…if they last that long!
Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 dozen eggs 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp vegetable shortening
Instructions
- In medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar over medium heat. Heat until completely melted and starting to bubble a little, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until completely combined. Set aside and let cool to room temp.
- Melt chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave at 30 second increments, stirring after each, until fully melted. Using a small spatula, drizzle chocolate into the compartments of the egg shaped silicone mold, being careful to coat the bottom and sides. Refrigerate until hardened.
- Pull chocolate molds out of the fridge and roll peanut butter mixture between hands to create an oval shape. Press into the molds making sure it is flattened and there is space along the side and top of the mold to coat with chocolate.
- Drizzle remaining chocolate over the molds and coat completely. Let harden for an hour in the fridge before serving, and store in the fridge for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Cost: $5.03/batch or $.42/egg
This recipe is actually cheaper than store bought Reese’s eggs, but not by much. Peanut butter and chocolate chips are the most expensive ingredients, however, you should be able to reduce the cost with sales and coupons {and by stocking up when baking supplies go on sale during the Holidays.}
Even so, Easter comes only once a year, and this, my friend, makes for one heavenly special treat, and a major excuse to splurge. It’s a serious chocolate peanut butter euphoria happening right inside your mouth!
What is your favorite food to make for Easter?
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I am going to use candy melts, will i still need to add the shorting?
I don’t believe you have to – but it may make the chocolate smoother.
I didn’t have the egg mold so I used silicon cupcake forms….they look just like the real thing — except not as uniform in size !!! Delicious
★★★★★
What a GREAT idea!
Do you have to refrigerate these? If so why?
It would depend on your climate. I refrigerate them to keep them from getting soft and sticking together.
Can you tell me where the measurements are for the ingredients?
Hi Kyra,
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I love the mold and hopefully will find one before Easter this year!
I got mine at Michaels or AC Moore! But you can also grab one on Amazon.
This looks really, really good! I do have to ask, because there’s a reason I would make these– I’m allergic to soy and it’s in everything chocolate/peanut butter, but I have found some brands that are soy free– and believe me, I’m DYING without my Reese’s fix.
I saw that you said you could substitute butter for the shortening (which has soy in it, or it’s made from soy from what I’ve seen.) Would it be ok without either? I would like to know why it’s added at all, for my curiosity. Does it just make the chocolate easier to spread? And if adding butter, would you use the same amount as the shortening here, more, or less? Thank you very much!!
If you substitute butter for shortening I believe it would be about a 1 to 1 ratio. I haven’t tried it without. I think it helps with the consistency of the chocolate as it’s melting. You could certainly experiment with it! Maybe you could even try switching out the butter/shortening with coconut oil. I’ve been using that a lot as a healthier substitute lately.
Where did you buy your mold from
Right Here, Paige!
What could I use instead of the vegetable shortening when melting the chocolate?
The only other ingredient I’ve substituted shortening for is butter, so you could try that instead.
As far as the ingredients it’s the same as the recipe my mom always uses. But I always complain how grainy the brown sugar stays with just beating everything together. I LOVE your idea of cooking the peanut butter and sugar first, totally going to try it this year! THANKS!!!
You’re welcome — I hope you enjoy them!
I would think you mean 30 SECOND increments when melting the chocolate and shortening in the microwave, not minutes. I would also like to know if the remaining chocolate hardens while the chocolate in the egg molds is in the refrigerator. Will it need to be reheated before drizzling over the top?
Yes, thank for catching that! I just changed it in the recipe. Also, the chocolate doesn’t harden much at all while the egg molds are in the fridge. The chocolate shells don’t take long to stiffen up, maybe about 10-15 minutes, and when I take them out, I just stir the chocolate in the bowl a few times to loosen it up. If it does start to harden, just pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to reheat.
Can I use ice cube trays if I don’t have the silicone mold?
I think that is perfectly acceptable and creative idea. 🙂
Should I spray (nonstick) inside of silicone egg mold? I never used silicone mold so wonder If I need to make this one! Also do i need to cover the top of the pan before putting inside of fridge?
There’s no need to spray or cover the pan. They pop out perfectly – good luck!
I’m impressed. You were able to make your Easter candy last until summer. That never happened with me. 🙂
For some reason I had great joy over savoring it one piece at a time. 🙂
These look delicious…..and so cute!!!
I don’t have an egg mold. Just wondering if I formed them myself and dipped them in chocolate would it work? Or do you think the peanut butter would melt
I think it would work just fine. I would form the peanut butter mixture first, place on a cookie sheet, and refrigerate for an hour until hardened. That would make it much easier to dip.
Oh… My…. Goodness…. These will NOT be just for Easter in my house!! Thank you for sharing!!
You’re welcome! They would be fun to make anytime – you could even switch up the molds for different seasons. 🙂
Is it ok to use natural peanut butter?
It seems like it should work, the only thing is natural peanut butter has a lot more oil, so I don’t know if you might need to add more powdered sugar to compensate. I have also seen adding graham cracker crumbs to give it a crunch and more substance. Definitely play around with it to see how it turns out!
So you’ll be bringing some on Saturday??? 😉
We could arrange that. 😉
Yum!