Peanut Butter Eggs are an Easter candy staple. These homemade peanut butter eggs are my Grandma’s recipe with a few special ingredients that take the flavor to a new level! And with quality dipping chocolate, they are melt-in-your-mouth divine!
Food is the maker of memories. Some fond memories of my youth involved making candy with my grandma. Her homemade peanut butter eggs were so yummy. I remember them being dipped in white chocolate (and that was before Hershey was doing it.) I have taken my grandma’s recipe and added some special ingredients… brown sugar and a little salt! The flavor is amazing. Dip the peanut butter egg centers in quality milk chocolate, like Guittard, and the flavor will amaze you! What does your kitchen need for Easter? Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs.
Ingredients for Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs
The ingredients are simple and typically found in the kitchen pantry!
- Butter: Unsalted. Butter, and not margarine, makes all the difference in the flavor of this recipe.
- Brown Sugar: Absolutely delicious! Light or dark brown sugar, even coconut sugar, are excellent choices.
- Peanut Butter: Smooth or chunky? That is a personal preference thing. We all have our favorite in this category!!
- Vanilla: A good ingredient that evens out the flavor in this case.
- Salt: Yep! A game changer. My favorite salt in this case is sea salt over table salt. Redmond salt is my preferred salt.
- Powdered Sugar: This ingredient creates the correct texture for homemade peanut butter eggs.
- Guittard Milk Chocolate A’peels (or your choice of dipping chocolate): A compound chocolate like Guittard A’peels is a very forgiving dipping chocolate. The flavor is amazing! And there is no need to temper this chocolate. Just melt it carefully in the microwave and it’s ready for dipping. This ingredient can be purchased at Amazon or your local kitchen supply store. I prefer milk chocolate on my homemade peanut butter eggs, but dark or white chocolate tastes amazing as well.
How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in a microwave for about 1 minute and then, dissolve brown sugar in the warm butter. You may need to warm the butter and brown sugar for an extra 30 seconds to completely dissolve the sugar.
- Add peanut butter, vanilla salt, and stir until evenly mixed.
- Add 2 ½ cups powdered sugar and stir until completely incorporated. You may want to use a hand mixer since the mixture is quite thick. If the mixture is still too wet, add up to a ½ cup more powdered sugar.
- Roll out the peanut butter mixture between two sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper until ½-3/4” thickness.
- Place on a baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes. The cooling process just hardens the butter again.
- Cut out with 2-inch circle cookie cutter. Squeeze or pinch the top half of circle until it resembles an egg shape. Place on a parchment covered cookie sheet.
- Put the shaped eggs back in fridge for at least 15 minutes. Note: Don’t freeze the egg shapes or after you dip them in chocolate, they will become weepy because of condensation inside the chocolate shell. And the shell will most likely crack—which allows the peanut butter filling to dry out.
Dipping in Chocolate
- Melt the dipping chocolate (your choice—dark, milk or white) in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Then stir (even though the chocolate doesn’t look melted). Microwave for another 30 seconds and then stir again. Melt for 30 seconds or less and stir until the chocolate is smooth and ready for dipping. Be careful to not let the chocolate get too hot. If the container or the chocolate is too hot to touch, IT IS TOO HOT!
- The peanut butter filling will soften as it sits in the warm chocolate, so work quickly as you dip the peanut butter eggs in chocolate.
- Drop the peanut butter egg shape top up in the melted dipping chocolate. Cover with chocolate. Then pick up the bottom center of the egg shape with your dipping tool or fork. Place on wax paper by dropping one side on the wax paper and lifting the other side while you remove the dipping tool from the egg shape. Swirl the drizzle of chocolate coming from the dipping tool on to the top of the chocolate egg as a finishing touch.
- Allow the chocolate to harden.
- Decorate the chocolate covered eggs as desired with drizzled melted chocolate (of a matching or different color). Sprinkle with colored sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, or flake salt while the dipping chocolate is still soft. You can also decorate the chocolate covered eggs with royal icing designs.
Make fantastic food memories with this recipe for Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs. Your family and friends will cherish time in your kitchen!
–Kim
Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs
Peanut Butter Eggs are an Easter candy staple. These homemade peanut butter eggs are my Grandma’s recipe with a few special ingredients that take the flavor to a new level! And with quality dipping chocolate, they are melt-in-your-mouth divine!
Servings: 24 eggs
Ingredients
- ½ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 cups peanut butter
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½-3 cups powdered sugar start with 2 ½ cups- if too wet, add more
- 2-3 pounds Guittard Milk Chocolate A’peels (compound chocolate) or your choice of dipping chocolate
Instructions
- Place butter in a microwave-safe medium-large sized bowl. Melt in a microwave for about 1 minute. Stir in brown sugar until the sugar dissolves. Heat for an extra 30 seconds if needed to dissolve sugar.
- Add peanut butter, vanilla salt, and stir until evenly mixed.
- Add 2 ½ cups powdered sugar and stir until completely incorporated. Use a hand mixer if needed. If the mixture is too wet/sticky, add up to a ½ cup more powdered sugar.
- Roll out between two sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper until ½-¾ inch thickness.
- Freeze for 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Cut out with a 2-inch circle cookie cutter. Squeeze top half of circle until it resembles an egg. Place on parchment covered cookie sheet.
- Put back in fridge for at least 15 minutes. (Don’t freeze–see note)
- Dip in chocolate (your choice—dark, milk or white) and place on wax paper to allow the chocolate to harden. The peanut butter filling will become soft in the warm chocolate, so work quickly as you dip the peanut butter eggs.
- Decorate chocolate covered eggs as desired with drizzled melted chocolate, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, flake salt, or royal icing.
Notes
Do not freeze after shaping the peanut butter egg and before dipping in chocolate or after you dip the eggs in chocolate, they will become weepy because of condensation inside the chocolate shell. And the shell will most likely crack—which allows the peanut butter filling to dry out.
