SUSAN FRANK:
Ahhh... Easter, bunnies, colored eggs, and my favorite candy, but who can afford sixteen dollars a pound and up and then feel guilty unless you eat it all. This Easter after watching all my favorite authors post delicious recipes on Facebook, I decided to experiment by making candy. My mother actually had a candy and gift shop when my twin sister and I were young. My twin sister is a great cook. I'm 2 minutes younger, so I need to be better at something! So, chocolate covered pretzels? Too easy. Strawberries? Too Easy. Peanut rolled eggs? Yep! I remember them. How hard could it be?.........not hard at all, my kind of candy!
I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Duffy Browns book Braking for Bodies before release, so while I made the wonderful butter cream inside, I decided to read instead of doing the candy all at once. It actually made it easier, as the cooler the "buttercream" gets, the easier it is to manipulate. So find a good book and let the buttercream cool as long as you want and then play with the dipping when you're done.
P.S. If you have goldens or any kind of dog - beware they will love these, but they should not eat these--or anything with chocolate, specifically dark chocolate.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT ROLLED EGGS
Ingredients
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 10-ounce bag dark chocolate candy melts (I use the Ghiardelli ones)
2 cups chopped peanuts (I used the sea salt ones)
Directions
Whisk together milk, butter, and vanilla (make sure the butter is soft or you will have lumps).
Gradually stir in 2 1/2 of the 3 cups of powdered sugar. Coat your hands with powdered sugar and knead dough until it reaches the desired consistency. Your dough should be firm but not crumbly (sort of like pizza dough). Add more sugar if needed. Dough will be sticky. Form dough into a log and dust with powdered sugar, then roll up in parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least an hour until firm enough to handle. I actually left mine overnight. You can keep it for awhile, if you double the recipe and don't use it all.
When ready, melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave, (if you are using Ghiardelli the directions are on the back of the back. You need to use the melting discs though as it doesn't work with the chips) stirring until smooth. Spread crushed peanuts in a dish with high sides or you'll have peanuts all over. You have to put them in a processor to make them small and fine.
While chocolate melts, get your chilled "dough" out and cut off pieces into desired size. Remember that your finished candy will be a bit larger with the candy coating and added peanuts. Form the piece of dough into an egg shape.
Dip the candy into the melted chocolate to coat on all sides. I used a fork so that the chocolate could drip off when I scooped them out of the chocolate. Lay coated candy in peanuts and roll around to coat. Let set a minute or until chocolate starts to set up, then place on parchment (so it doesn't stick).
Voila! Peanut rolled eggs that don't cost $16.00 a pound!
Yum, I'm definitely going to try these. Thanks, Susan and Janet!
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