I can’t believe it’s almost Easter! How did that happen? It’s coming up in less than 2 weeks now so I’ve decided to pre-empt the Easter season and give you all this great recipe to try.
Last year for Easter, I knew I was going over my aunt and uncle’s house and wanted to have something to bring. Naturally, it had to be a dessert and an Easter themed one. Sadly, it could not be the lamb cake that my grandmother used to make and that my mother now makes on occasion (that would require the lamb mold and I was not about to buy one) so I decided on these fairly simple cookies. Much to my surprise, they were quite the hit. The Reese egg in the middle proved to be a surprise to people but not a bad one. I’ve often underestimated how much people like the chocolate and peanut butter combination since I’m often not a fan of it myself (I don’t like peanut butter cookies. I mean...did I just say that?) but these were pretty good. The other great thing about these is that you can use Cadbury eggs in the middle or Kinder eggs if you don't like peanut butter that much.
In any case, I guess the egg in the middle is not what my relatives were expecting inside a purple or yellow cookie. I can’t say I would have either. Honestly I’m just glad people wanted to eat them because while I was pretty excited about my idea to dye the dough different Easter colors and roll them in sprinkles, I was unsure what people would think about eating a strangely colored cookie. Fortunately, they were kind, ate them, and ended up up enjoying them. Plus, the odd color added to the festiveness of things, or at least made the cookies look more like Easter. Either way, dyed or not, you should try making these simple and tasty cookies this Easter. You may just want to double the recipe if you’re cooking for a crowd though!
Easter Surprise Cookies (adapted from Nosh With Me)
Yield: 12 cookies
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
1 cup flour
12 pack of mini Cadbury cream eggs/Reese eggs/Kinder eggs, unwrapped and freezer chilled
2 different colors of food coloring (optional)
Assorted sprinkles
Directions:
1) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2) In a large bowl, cream butter, vanilla and sugar.
3) Add salt and flour, mixing until well combined and soft dough is formed (if the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour).
4) If you want to color your dough (this step is optional), divide the dough into 2 sections, make an indentation in both sections and drop in a couple of drops of food coloring. Using your hands, knead the dough until it is an even color.
5) Roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball and flatten it with your fingers. Place an egg in the center of your dough and gently press the remaining dough around the egg until it’s completely covered. Lightly roll in the palm of your hand to cover smoothly then roll in sprinkles and place on baking sheet.
6) Repeat until all your eggs have been covered then place in fridge to chill for about 30 minutes. With about 10 minutes left, preheat your oven to 350. Place cookies in oven for about 10-12 minutes; the cookies won’t brown so gently press into one to feel for doneness.
7) After about 2 minutes, remove from baking sheet and place on to cooling racks. Allow cookies to cool completely.
