How to Make Peanut Butter Eggs

These peanut butter eggs are similar to Reese’s Peanut Butter candy. They are made with white and milk chocolate, but you can change the recipe to make them all one type of chocolate. Decorate them with colored sprinkles for a festive holiday look.

Worth the Trouble

It only takes a few ingredients to make homemade peanut butter eggs. These are hand-formed to look like eggs, but you can make circles or balls instead. The hand-forming gives them an artisan look that doesn’t have to be perfect to taste delicious!

Tips for Peanut Butter Eggs

Peanut butter eggs can seem difficult to make; however, I have tips to make the process easier. And remember, these hand-formed eggs don’t need to be perfect! This recipe uses the microwave to melt the chocolate to save time. However, it is essential to let the heated chocolate cool before dipping the peanut butter base into it. Otherwise, the peanut butter can melt and fall apart into the chocolate. Likewise, the peanut butter base needs to be cool but not frozen, or it can freeze onto the dipping utensil and crumple when you try to remove it.

Use a High-Quality Chocolate

Use your favorite high-quality chocolate for these peanut butter eggs. I used Ghirardelli melted wafers, but other high-quality chocolates work well too. You can use either a milk chocolate coating or semi-sweet for the dark chocolate eggs. And if you prefer to make just one chocolate flavor, double the recipe chocolate amount listed for the one you want to make. Also, have extra chocolate on hand in case the eggs take a bit more than listed in the recipe.

Peanut Butter to Use

Use processed peanut butter from a jar instead of natural peanut butter because natural peanut butter can separate and mess up the texture of these eggs. I used Jif creamy peanut butter, but other brands work well too.

How to Make Peanut Butter Eggs

These chocolate eggs are made by following these steps:

Add Colored Sprinkles to Peanut Butter Eggs

Sprinkle the eggs with confetti discs if desired to add a festive touch. You can customize them for the holidays by choosing sprinkles in colors that match the occasion, such as red and green for Christmas; pink, white, and red for Valentine’s Day; black, orange, and purple for Halloween; or red, white, and blue for the 4th of July. These peanut butter eggs in the photos are sprinkled with pastel disc confetti. You can find other colors by searching for edible disc confetti sprinkles + the occasion + color. For example, “edible disc confetti sprinkles Halloween colors.”

Trim the Excess Chocolate from the Peanut Butter Eggs

Let the chocolate harden on the dipped eggs. You can leave them at room temperature and let them set, or place them in the refrigerator for a few minutes to speed up the process. When the chocolate is hard, use a knife to cut away extra chocolate from around the edges.

How to Fix Cracks on Peanut Butter Eggs

Cracks can form when you dip chocolate eggs. For example, if the chocolate is too hot, it can melt the peanut butter dough and cause the formed egg to partially collapse, which causes cracks. Even dipping eggs with a fork can cause an egg to fall apart and crack. No worries if cracks form because you can fix them by following these steps:

1. Let the cracked chocolate-dipped egg dry on the parchment paper. 
2. Then press the egg together as best you can, and place it in the melted chocolate again.
3. Dip it until the cracks are covered. 
4. Place it on the parchment paper to let the chocolate harden again.

Several eggs (above photo) cracked when I first dipped them. I let the chocolate harden, pressed them together to tighten the cracks, and chocolate-dipped them again. The second dipping healed the cracks. Furthermore, no one could tell the difference between the re-dipped eggs and those with just one dipping. Re-dipping is a way to save eggs that fall apart!

How to Store Peanut Butter Eggs

These peanut butter eggs are best stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will keep for about a week if tightly sealed so they don’t dry out.

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How to Make Peanut Butter Eggs

Candy peanut butter eggs are made from peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, butter, and powdered sugar, then dipped in chocolate.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 minutes mins

Cooling Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 12 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 22

Calories 272 kcal

Equipment

• Baking Sheet
• parchment paper or waxed paper (for drying chocolate-coated eggs)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 ⅓ cups smooth peanut butter (JIF used; use processed peanut butter instead of natural)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ⅔ cup graham cracker crumbs, finely crushed
• extra powdered sugar
• 6 ounces white chocolate melting wafers + extra if needed (Ghirardelli White Vanilla Flavored Melting Wafers used)
• 6 ounces milk chocolate melting wafers + extra if needed (Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Flavored Melting Wafers used)
• 4 teaspoons cooking oil, divided
• edible confetti discs (available online or in cake-making supplies)

Instructions

 

• Place a sheet of parchment or waxed paper onto a baking sheet.
• Beat the butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy. Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla.
• Stir in the graham cracker crumbs until they are mixed well with the dough.
• Add extra powdered sugar to a bowl. There should be enough to dip and coat the dough for each egg. Add more powdered sugar as necessary. (Coating the dough in powdered sugar before forming the eggs helps to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.)
• Break off a heaping tablespoon of dough (or use a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop to measure the dough). Place the dough into the bowl of powdered sugar and coat it with sugar. Then, roll the dough with your hands to form a ball. Place the ball onto the prepared baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to press the ball flat and form a disc shape. Then, create an egg by pinching one end of the disc to narrow it into a slight point. Repeat until all the eggs are made. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• In a microwavable bowl large enough to dip an egg, melt the white chocolate wafers and 2 teaspoons of cooking oil on high for 30 seconds. Stir and heat it for another 30 seconds. Stir until the chocolate melts. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
• Repeat the chocolate melting process for the milk chocolate in a separate bowl. Set a timer to let it cool for 10 minutes.
• Divide the eggs in half. Coat half with white chocolate and half with milk chocolate. When the white chocolate has cooled for 10 minutes, place a chilled peanut butter egg into it and roll the egg with a spoon to coat it. If the chocolate is too thick, add more cooking oil and stir to thin it. Remove the egg with a fork to allow some of the chocolate to drip away. Place the coated egg on waxed or parchment paper and sprinkle it with confetti discs before the chocolate hardens. Repeat for the other eggs.
• After the milk chocolate cools for 10 minutes, coat the rest of the eggs and add confetti discs to them before the chocolate dries.
• Store the eggs in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They are best if eaten within a week of making them. They will keep in the freezer, in an airtight container, for a couple of months.

Notes

Troubleshooting when Dipping Eggs

Problem 1: Eggs fall apart when dipped into the chocolate. They are not chilled long enough to hold their shape. Solution: Chill the eggs for 20 minutes and then work on 1 or 2 eggs while refrigerating the remaining eggs.

Problem 2: The eggs disintegrate when dipped into the chocolate. The chocolate is too hot and is melting the eggs. Solution: Let it sit for 10 minutes before dipping the chilled eggs.

Problem 3: The egg sticks to the fork after I dip it. The egg is frozen and hardened the chocolate. Solution: If you speed-chill the eggs in the freezer instead of the refrigerator, let them thaw before you dip them. If they are frozen, they will harden the chocolate immediately and will break when you try to remove them from the fork.

Problem 4: The chocolate cracked on the egg. This usually happens when the eggs lose their shape. Solution: If the egg cracks in one or more places but still has its basic shape, place it on the waxed paper for the chocolate to harden. Then, use your fingers to reform the shape of the egg. Chill it for a few minutes in the refrigerator. Re-dip the egg in the chocolate to fill in the cracks and coat the egg. This new coating will hide the cracks.

Problem 5: The large eggs easily break when dipped in chocolate. Solution: Make smaller eggs because they are easier to work with.

Problem 6: The chocolate is too thick to work with. This is usually caused because the chocolate is not thinned enough with cooking oil or is no longer warm enough. Solutions: 1) If the chocolate is too thick while still warm, add more cooking oil to thin it. 2) If the chocolate cools too much, it will gradually thicken and harden, making it impossible to coat the remaining eggs. Heat the chocolate for 30-second intervals and stir. Then, cool the chocolate for 10 minutes again before trying to coat the eggs. 

Temperature Sweet Spot

There is a temperature sweet spot for dipping eggs. Depending on the room temperature and the microwave power, you might need to cool the chocolate for fewer than 10 minutes or longer than 10. 

The Dough is Too Sweet

Taste the dough before forming the eggs. If it is too sweet, add a pinch of salt and mix well. If you like peanut butter eggs that are not as sweet, use salted butter instead of unsalted, and add the salt listed in the recipe.

Graham Crackers in the Dough

Graham cracker crumbs will help thicken the dough. This method works better than adding more powdered sugar because the sugar can make the eggs too sweet. Graham crackers are less sweet and safer than using flour as a filler since raw flour can contain germs that cause food poisoning. Additionally, graham cracker crumbs add grit to the dough, which mimics small pieces of unground peanuts.

The Chocolate Seized When Melted

Chocolate can seize or harden and become unworkable when melted. This occurs when it is overheated. You can try to save it by adding cooking oil and stirring. If this does not work, throw it out and melt new chocolate. To prevent the chocolate from seizing, melt it in 30-second intervals, stirring between intervals. It is better to heat the chocolate for fewer seconds and stir it longer until all the chocolate melts.

The Chocolate Coating is Soft

This can happen when the humidity is too high in the room. Place the eggs in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate.

Nutrition

Calories: 272kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 4gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 105mgPotassium: 138mgFiber: 1gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 98IUVitamin C: 0.04mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 0.4mg

Keyword Candy Recipe, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Recipe, Peanut Butter Eggs

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