Easter: A Few Ideas

Easter: A Few Ideas

Chloe Kuebbing, Writer

Easter is a great time to get crafty, and the best crafts involve chocolate. Here are a few ideas for your Easter weekend:

Easter bark is a fun activity you can use to distract annoying siblings while still indulging in your chocolate cravings. I made a tasty batch inspired by this Pinterest post. Melting chocolate is actually a bit more complicated than you may think. To properly melt chocolate in a process called tempering, you need to melt the chocolate until it reaches 105 degrees Fahrenheit, add unmelted chocolate, and stir until melted. For more information, check out Steve Leffer’s post on the different ways to temper chocolate. To make easter bark, temper or melt some chocolate. You can use different colors to be more festive. Then spread the chocolate on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. While it’s still melted, drop candy in the chocolate, like crushed Oreos, M&Ms, peeps, and robin eggs. Leave the chocolate and room temperature, and once it’s set, just break it into wedges for a delicious chocolatey snack.

A more advanced craft is an adorable little peep house. If you want some prettier pictures taken by people who know what they’re doing, check out this blog’s take on the craft. By using chocolate or royal icing as glue to make a miniature gingerbread house with an open front out of graham crackers. After constructing the base, feel free to decorate the house with colorful icing or chocolate. Once everything is dry and sturdy, line the bottom with easter grass, or if you’re extra like me, make or buy green cotton candy, and place a peep chick on top. The result is an adorable, delicious house that can easily be decorated by people young and old. A great idea is to put the cracker houses together beforehand and let people decorate it or leave it simple in order to lessen the boredom that comes with waiting for the chocolate to set.

Shaving cream eggs really blew up a few years ago, and with good reason. It’s the best way to marble eggs without complicated ingredients or a large setup. All you need is some cheap shaving cream, liquid food coloring, and some good old-fashioned hard-boiled eggs. Spread shaving cream in a thick layer in a walled dish, like a casserole dish or brownie pan. And drop different colors in the foam. Use a butter knife to swirl the colors around and mix them slightly. Then gently drop the eggs into the colored shaving cream, completely coat them, and let them sit on a paper towel for half an hour before you wipe them off and admire your beautiful craftsmanship. Craftymorning made some beautiful eggs using this technique.

The last craft on this list is adorable little hatching deviled eggs. After carefully peeling your hard boiled eggs, cut the top third of the egg off in a zigzag pattern. Remove the yolk and use a knife to level the bottom of the egg so that it can stand up straight on its own. Use the yolks to follow your favorite deviled eggs recipe. If you don’t make them that often, try this delicious recipe from Food Network. Once you finished your yellow glue, put it in a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off, pipe it into the base of each egg, making sure to pile it up a bit and add the top of the egg. Voila! You have a yummy hatching deviled egg! While these are great for presentation, I recommend sprinkling some smoked paprika on them before consumption to make them taste a little more flavorful.

Share your Easter creations on Instagram or Twitter, and tag Patriot Pages.