Make Your Own Easter Candy

It’s Easter time, which means the store shelves are filled with varieties of candy we only see at this time of year. Want to save some money buying Easter, enjoy a night of family fun, or have your favorites year-round? Here are some recipes to make a few popular varieties right at home:

Jelly Beans
Ingredients:
3 packages unflavored gelatin
2 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons orange zest
4 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cornstarch

Directions:
Chill a medium-size baking pan in the refrigerator. Place gelatin, 2 cups sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water in a separate pan. Bring the ingredients to a boil over medium heat, stirring continually for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and add salt, orange juice, and lemon juice. After the mixture has cooled somewhat, stir in the orange and lemon zests. Remove the chilled pan from the refrigerator, pour the jelly mixture into it, and let it harden for 4-5 hours. Use a knife to loosen the hardened jelly mixture from the pan. Lay the hardened jelly onto a cutting board and cut it into 1/2” pieces. Dust the pieces with cornstarch and place them on a wire rack to dry. If you have a coating pan attachment for your mixer, pour the pieces into it and add 1/4 cup of water and 3/4 cup sugar. Turn the mixer on high until the jelly beans are nicely coated. If you don’t have a coating pan attachment, and can’t borrow one, simply skip the cornstarch and dust the jelly beans in colored sugar (using the instructions in the Marshmallow Chicks recipe below).

Cream Eggs
Ingredients:
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Yellow food coloring
1 12-oz. bag milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Cream together the corn syrup, butter, and vanilla, then beat in the powdered sugar. Separate out a third of the mixture into a separate bowl and add yellow food coloring until it is bright yellow. Place both bowls in the refrigerator for about an hour. Wearing disposable gloves, form the yellow filling into several small, egg yolk sized balls. Set the balls on parchment and place them in the refrigerator until form. Once the yolks are firm, coat them in the white filling and form it into an egg shape. Set them back on the parchment and put the egg fillings back in the refrigerator. Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. Coat several egg-shaped candy molds with the melted chocolate. Make sure the coating is thick enough to form a strong shell. Place the molds in the refrigerator to allow the melted chocolate to set. Once the molds are set, place one egg filling into half of each mold. Join the eggshell halves together with melted chocolate and place the molds in the freezer. Allow the eggs to harden for at least an hour before attempting to remove them from the molds.

Marshmallow Chicks
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups fine white sugar
Food coloring (your choice)
2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
Cold water

Directions:
Place 2 cups sugar into a jar with a tight fitting lid. Add six drops of food coloring to the jar, close the lid, and shake vigorously for about a minute. Repeat, adding food coloring a drop or two at a time, until the color is to your liking. Cover the surface of a large baking sheet with a layer of colored sugar and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin into 1/3 cup cold water and leave it to sit for about five minutes. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water and sugar. Stir together over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Place a candy thermometer into the sugar water and boil until it reaches 238 ° and becomes a thick syrup. Remove the syrup from heat and add it to the softened gelatin. Place bowl under a stand mixer and, using a whisk attachment, beat on medium high for about 10 minutes, until peaks form. Quickly place the mixture into a large pastry bag. Pipe one oval shape, about an inch wide and a little longer, onto the sugared baking sheet. Pull upward at the back end of the oval to create a tail, then add a head by piping on a small mound and pulling downward to make a beak. Sprinkle sugar over the entire surface of the chick. Using a toothpick, dab a small amount of cocoa powder onto the head, where the eyes would be. Repeat until all of the marshmallow is gone. Allow the chicks to set before eating.

Peanut Butter Eggs
Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups peanut butter
5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1.55-oz. chocolate bar
1 6-oz. package chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, salt, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla until it takes on a doughy texture. Form the peanut butter dough into egg shapes, using about two tablespoons of dough for each “egg.” In a double boiler, melt the chocolate bar and chocolate chips. Coat several egg-shaped candy molds with the melted chocolate. Make sure the coating is thick enough to form a strong shell. Place the molds in the refrigerator to allow the melted chocolate to set. Once the molds are set, place one peanut butter filling into half of each mold. Join the eggshell halves together with more melted chocolate, then place the molds in the freezer. Allow the eggs to harden for at least an hour before attempting to remove them from the molds.