These Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs are a perfect homemade Easter candy and they can be ready in under an hour! This recipe is one of my easier candy recipes. It consists of a simple creamy peanut butter filling surrounded by a chocolate shell. Fun to make with kids!
Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs
Are you ready for Easter recipes yet? How about springtime recipes?
After a cold, wet, winter, I’m ready for warm weather, sunshine, and all things Spring! Starting with these homemade peanut butter eggs that would be perfect for your Easter basket but also maybe totally perfect for munching on all season (all year?) long.
The filling for these Peanut Butter Eggs is based off of my Buckeye recipe. It’s essentially the same easy-to-make, easy-to-manage, creamy, peanut-buttery filling shaped into an egg shape and hidden beneath a slick chocolate coating. This recipe makes me think of a Reese’s Egg, only better.
Easy to make, maybe a little messy (I’m unfortunately not so great at keeping my powdered sugar from flying everywhere and not getting chocolate all over my countertops, but if you are your mileage will vary), but simple and so good.
What Ingredients Do I Need to Make Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs?
- Peanut Butter. You’ll want to use a creamy peanut butter. I don’t recommend using a natural variety (the kind that separates and needs to be stirred before using). Your eggs will most likely end up too sticky and oily that way.
- Butter. This is one of my rare recipes where I actually use salted butter instead of unsalted. However, if you only have unsalted on hand you can add ¼ teaspoon of salt to your batter to make your peanut butter eggs.
- Brown Sugar. This is optional, but I recommend it for a subtle depth of flavor. Some people have complained that they can detect the grittiness of the brown sugar in the end product. I’ve never had this happen and think it might have to do with the brand of sugar. I use Domino Sugar and make sure I stir the sugar in really well with the butter.
- Vanilla Extract. Enough said.
- Powdered Sugar. Keep the mixer on low speed as you add the sugar to keep it from flying everywhere. I usually end up wearing a good bit of mine because I’m impatient.
How to Shape Peanut Butter Eggs
Start by scooping about two tablespoons of your peanut butter “dough” into a ball. Give the dough a little squeeze to make sure it clings together without crumbling. If it does, roll it between your palms to form an egg shape (if it doesn’t, see my tips below). You could be done here and have a round egg shape, much like my Easter Egg Candy recipe, but I was going for more of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg look. To achieve that, place your egg on a clean surface and use your palm to gently flatten it. If needed, use your fingers to smooth over any cracks or properly round the edges.
Voila. Perfect Peanut Butter Eggs.
Tips for Making Peanut Butter Eggs
- The peanut butter filling here is pretty much foolproof. If it’s too sticky to manage, you can fix that by stirring in more powdered sugar, a Tablespoon at a time. If it’s too dry (test it first, the dough will look dry but if it clings together when you work it in your hands and is moldable it’s perfect) you can remedy that by stirring in just a splash of milk.
- Don’t freeze your eggs for too long before coating with chocolate. It makes the chocolate likely to crack as the peanut butter interiors warm back up to room temperature (learned this one when making my Oreo Balls).
- If adding sprinkles, add them immediately after dipping your peanut butter eggs. The chocolate hardens fast and you only have a small window to add the sprinkles.
- Peanut Butter Eggs will keep for several days at room temperature or for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. No matter where you keep them, I recommend storing in an airtight container.
Any other Spring-specific recipes you’d like to see this season?
More Recipes You Might Like:
Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs
Ingredients
- 2 cups (475 g) creamy peanut butter not "natural" peanut butter
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, softened
- 2 Tablespoons light or dark brown sugar¹ tightly packed
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cups (405 g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ lbs (680 g) milk or dark chocolate melting wafers or 1 ½ lbs chocolate chips + 1 teaspoon shortening²
- Sprinkles for decorating optional
Instructions
- Combine creamy peanut butter and softened butter in a large bowl (or preferably in the bowl of a stand mixer) and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined.2 cups (475 g) creamy peanut butter, ½ cup (113 g) salted butter,
- Add brown sugar and vanilla extract and stir well.2 Tablespoons light or dark brown sugar¹, 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Gradually, about ½ cup at a time, add powdered sugar, mixing on low-speed until all sugar is absorbed and mixture clinging together. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottoms of the bowl with a spatula as needed.3 ¼ cups (405 g) powdered sugar
- Once all ingredients have been well-combined, the "dough" should be pretty dry but you should be able to mold it together in the palm of your hand and form a ball easily. If it is too crumbly and not holding together, you can add a bit of milk or additional peanut butter, one teaspoon at a time. If it's too wet and sticking to your hands, add more powdered sugar, a Tablespoon at a time.
- Scoop dough by about 2 Tablespoons and roll into an egg shape. Flatten slightly (for a "Reese's" egg appearance) and transfer to a wax paper lined baking sheet.
- Once all dough has been rolled, transfer to freezer and chill for at least 15 minutes.
- Once chilled, prepare your melting wafers according to package instructions or prepare chocolate chips by combining chocolate chips and shortening and microwaving in 20 second intervals, stirring well in between, until chocolate is smooth and completely melted.1 ½ lbs (680 g) milk or dark chocolate melting wafers or 1 ½ lbs chocolate chips + 1 teaspoon shortening²
- Remove eggs from freezer and dip in melted chocolate (see my video below if you have any questions about my technique). Drizzle with additional chocolate if desired (I used the opposite color that I dipped the eggs in) and if decorating with sprinkles, sprinkle immediately over chocolate.Sprinkles for decorating
- Allow chocolate to harden before enjoying. If you used melting wafers this will only take minutes. If you used chocolate chips it will take much longer but the process can be sped up by popping the eggs in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Anne
Thank you, Sam, for this great recipe! I made a batch for Easter and they turned out great! A tip: if using candy melts, they harden very quickly, which makes them difficult to use for dipping after the first few minutes. So, it’s helpful to leave the bowl of melted chocolate on top of a warm surface (not too hot, since you don’t want the chocolate to overheat and seize, but just warm). That way, the chocolate will stay in melted form while dipping the whole batch! (I used a double boiler and then when it was finished melting, I turned the stove off but left the bowl on the stove while dipping, and the residual heat worked well!).
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy this one was a hit for you, Anne! Enjoy 😊
michele
love the tips of how to coat the eggs, much neater than how I’ve been dipping for years
Sam
I hope you love them! 🙂
Deborah
My granddaughters and family loved them. I also made your apple crumb cheesecake they loved it. I love cooking your recipes. Thanks for the amazing recipes. I loved to cook now i really know how to use spices. 6our pizza dough every Saturday so nice and not a heavy crust. Thanks sam
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed everything so much! 🙂
Marina P. Malcolm
yum cant wait to try Thank you looks real easy
Sam
I hope you love them! 🙂
Linda Reece
I would love to send these to my grandkids but given the mail service they will take a week to arrive. Suggestions please?
Linda
Sam
Hi Linda! These could potentially still be good after a week. If it was a cookie I’d say they’ll be stale by the time they arrive, but that’s not really an issue here. My only concern is the eggs melting if they get too warm.
Morgan
I made these as an Easter surprise last week for my husband, and they were such a hit! The recipe was very easy to follow, and the eggs turned out perfect and so delicious. They’re something I would definitely make again. I was so proud with how they turned out. Thanks so much for creating and sharing this recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Morgan! 🙂
Mary
What do I do if the chocolate is still to thick after it’s melted
Sam
You can thin it by melting a bit of shortening with the chocolate. I’ve been having a problem with Tollhouse chocolate chips recently where they’re too thick, I’m not sure if that’s the brand you’re using.
joanne collins
My daughter-in-law loves the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs and I’m so glad I came across this recipe. I’m going to make them for this Easter for her. The recipe sounds simple enough and looks delicious. I will let you know how she reacted to them. I’m hoping to make this disastrous 2020 a little brighter.
Sugar Spun Run
What a sweet and kind gesture, Joanne! I hope that your daughter-in-law loves them! 🙂
Dave
Could you use chunky peanut butter ?
Sam
Hi Dave! It will change the texture, but other than that it should work fine. 🙂
Crystal Dashiell
These are everything girl 🥰 thank you
Marsha
Do you use oil shorting or the hard shorting
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Marsha! I use vegetable shortening, like Crisco. 🙂
Cici
Where is the footnote for “2” about the shortening?
Sam
Hi Cici! I’m sorry about that, the note is just that the shortening is used to help thin out the chocolate if you choose to use chocolate chips. It makes for a smoother coating. I corrected the footnote to include that! I hope you love the peanut butter eggs!
Dianne Meck
I just made these and they are fantastic. I’m taking them to my daughter’s for Easter tomorrow, along with the Hot Cross Buns, which I’m making now. Happy Easter.
Dianne Meck
Sam
I am so glad everyone has enjoyed them, Dianne! Happy Easter! 🙂
Rachel @ Never Enough Novels
Peanut butter eggs are an annual Easter tradition in my family. Our recipe is pretty similar but adds cream cheese for a bit of extra flavor. It’s neat seeing everyone’s slightly different recipes this time of year!
Sam
That sounds like a delicious addition! 🙂
Patty
This is similar to something I made in my High School Home Ec class! Those eggs won me many friends! I will definitely have to try them. They are soooooo good, and this was the first thing I made that got me super interested in cooking….such as it was. lol I was only 16 at the time.
Sam
Hi Patty! I hope these are as great as you remember them to be! 🙂