It’s a familiar Easter Monday scene: the Easter bunny has come and gone and you and the kids have munched through as much chocolate as you can handle – yet a pile of chocolate eggs remains.
Sure, you could chip away at the chocolate egg stash over the coming weeks, or you could put them to good use by whipping up one of these decadent chocolate desserts.
Whenever a recipe calls for chocolate pieces or buttons, just substitute the same amount in chocolate eggs. Too easy!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Starting of with a classic, chocolate chip cookies, they’re universally loved and so easy to make.
These chewy crispy chocolate chip cookies are sure to impress family and friends, and even better is that they are made from the leftover Easter chocolate! It’s a win-win.
Ingredients
· 120g butter, softened
· 75gr light brown sugar
· 75gr golden caster sugar
· 1 medium egg
· 1 tsp vanilla extract
· 180gr plain flour
· ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
· 150gr (dark) chocolate, cut into chunks
Directions
1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking sheets with parchment. Cream the butter and sugars together until very light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Once combined, stir in the flour, bicarb, chocolate and ¼ tsp salt.
2. Scoop 10 large tbsps of the mixture onto the trays, leaving enough space between each to allow for spreading. Bake for 10-12 mins or until firm at the edges but still soft in the middle – they will harden a little as they cool. Leave to cool on the tray for a few mins before eating warm, or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.
Rocky Road
No one is ever going to complain about having one of these in their lunchbox, and they’re pretty handy to have around in the kitchen for a quick, snatched burst of energy at any time.
Ingredients
- 200gr digestive biscuits (Rich Tea can also be used)
- 135gr butter or margarine
- 200gr (dark) chocolate
- 2-3 tbsp golden syrup
- 100gr mini marshmallows (chopped regular marshmallows work too)
- icing sugar, to dust
Directions
- Grease and line an 18cm square brownie tin with baking paper.
Place 200g digestive biscuits in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin or just the side of your fist until they’re broken into a mixture of everything between dust and 50p-sized lumps. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan melt 135g butter or margarine, 200g dark chocolate and 2-3 tbsp golden syrup over gentle heat stirring constantly until there are no or almost no more lumps of chocolate visible, then remove from the heat. Leave to cool.
- Take the biscuits, 100g mini marshmallows and up to 100g of additional ingredients (dried fruit, nuts, popcorn, honeycomb), if you like, and stir into the chocolate mixture until everything is completely covered.
- Tip the mixture into the lined baking tin, and spread it out to the corners. Chill for at least 2 hrs then dust with icing sugar and cut into 12 fingers.
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
This one is very easy but so tasty, so try not to eat all the strawberries before you start melting the chocolate!
Enjoy these dipped berries as a snack or take them with you for a spring picnic in the park!
Ingredients
- 100g (dark) chocolate, roughly chopped
- 400g strawberries
- 30g white and milk chocolate, roughly chopped (optional)
Directions
- Cut a strip of baking parchment and leave it to one side. To melt the dark chocolate, fill a small pan with 2cm water and bring to a simmer. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and rest it on top of the pan, ensuring the bowl isn’t touching the water. Stir the chocolate to gradually melt it. Or, melt the chocolate in 20-second blasts in the microwave, stirring after each blast until melted. Put the melted chocolate in a small deep bowl.
- Gently hold the strawberries by the leafy top and dip them into the chocolate. Tap off any excess chocolate and put it on the parchment to set. If you have any leftover chocolate, pour it onto another strip of parchment and leave it to set, it can be used again.
- If you’d like to decorate the strawberries, melt the white and milk chocolate and drizzle lightly over the fruit.
