Easter is coming and in terms of food, for me that means one thing: Cadbury Mini-Eggs.
Mini-eggs are my absolute favorite candy, and I never get sick of them because they only show up twice a year (Christmas). I’m not a fan of the dark-chocolate variety, so I’m glad I could only find the milk chocolate variety. [Side note: I love dark chocolate, but not in coated candy form of any kind… weird.] I really wanted to use these in a way that wasn’t stuffing my face with them and regretting it later, so I turned to my mom’s trusty box of cookie recipes.
One of my very favorite holiday cookies from my mom is her Chewy Chocolate Cookies. They are a delicious pecan-meal chocolate cookie that she only makes at Christmastime (another food I haven’t gotten sick of yet), and I found myself craving them. Suddenly a “new” cookie was born. Behold:
Ingredients (*adapted from my mom’s original recipe):
- 1 ¼ cups butter*
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups bread flour*
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt*
- 1 cup finely chopped nuts (optional) (i.e. pecan meal)
- handfuls of mini-egg candy
Directions:
- Cream butter/margarine and sugar in a large mixer bowl.
- Add eggs and vanilla and blend well.
- Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; blend into creamed mixture.
- Stir in nuts, if desired.
- Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 9 minutes. (do not overbake, cookies will be soft. They will puff during baking, flatten upon cooling.)
- Cool on cookie sheet until set, about 1 minute; remove to wire rack to cool completely.
I love these nostalgic cookies already, so I was really excited to try them with chocolate candy tucked inside. At first, I didn’t know how they might do because mini-eggs are so much bigger than most in-cookie candies (i.e. M&M’s or chocolate chips). When I mixed in the candies, I ended up using the mixer and not a spoon, which actually broke up most of the pieces. This worked out well and created a fun effect in the cookies.
I was right to be excited. Warm from the oven, the chocolate from the mini-eggs was a perfect amount of melty and went perfectly with the cookie. The colors from the candy make them look like they’re ready for spring (and to be devoured). I really want my mom to try this take on her delicious Christmas cookie turned Easter cookie. Fortunately, I’ll get to see her this weekend. Let’s hope they last until then!
These look ridiculously delicious! I am only grateful that I am too lazy to do any baking myself.
They took a surprizingly short amount of time to mix and stuff into the oven. You should definitely try them next time you feel the pull of the kitchen. You’ll high-five yourself!
These look great. Where can I buy these mini eggs. Cant find them ANYWHERE!
I feel your pain! These little guys only show up around Easter- and Christmas-time. I usually have to scour the seasonal isle of the grocery store to find them. Places like Target and Wal-Mart should have them near the seasonal candy isle (similar to Halloween). Likely you’ll find them near the Peeps :). Good luck!!!! Let us know how your cookies turn out!