Your Easter basket guide

Easter is my favorite candy holiday — no contest — and this is why:

• Halloween is such a roulette. So much depends on the taste of strangers. (Here are my fancy-chocolate-swaps for Halloween candy!)

• Christmas has so. much. going. on. Cookies are Santa’s thing so that gets most attention. (Don’t get me wrong, I love cookies, so let’s talk about chocolate and cookies another time!) Candy is often an afterthought — relegated to decoration for gingerbread houses or candy canes. Tasty, but not chocolate.

• Valentine’s Day is technically a candy holiday, but my family always made homemade Valentines and sugar cookies, so I almost left this one out! This year, I went to a chocolate shop in Hawaii on Valentine’s Day (more on that to come!) but it has been a minute since I’ve given or received chocolate on Valentine’s Day. The holiday invokes a box of fancy truffles, which are delicious. Not my favorite chocolate implementation, but yummy.

• Easter, on the other hand …. Well, the centerpiece of any self-respecting Easter basket is the chocolate bunny, so clearly, this is a holiday that has its candy priorities in the right order.

(Is my mom going to think I’m the most sacrilegious? I promise I know that there’s a lot more to these holidays than candy, Mom!)

All Easter baskets need five important things:

Marshmallow Component

I’m not a Peeps fan myself, but I’ve really come around to chocolate covered marshmallows!

A couple Easters ago while we were visiting family in Arizona, we picked up adorable marshmallow bunnies from Zak’s Chocolate and the ratio of chocolate to house-made marshmallow was perfection. They also offer a marshmallow filling in their five egg collection (and one of the eggs is peanut butter! But we’ll talk more about that in a minute) if you prefer lots of options. (I do.)

Monsoon Chocolate, another Arizona brand, also has delicious chocolate covered marshmallows. While not marshmallow, their chocolate covered mango, cashew brittle, ginger, apricots or coconut macaroons would also all be very nice basket additions — and apricots are even egg-shaped! (All of those items may have made up the bulk of our Easter baskets last year.)

Mini Eggs

Speaking of egg-shaped things: tiny eggs are naturally a must-have for any self-respecting Easter basket.

For the past few years, Pump Street and Rozsavolgyi Csokolade have had my two favorites. I love the variation in origin with the Pump Street eggs; it is so fun to switch back and forth between the Madagascar milk and Ecuador milk depending on what I’m feeling like. It’s also the perfect little bit of chocolate. Rozsavolgyi’s striped eggs are fun because they’re solid, which is such a joy when so many Easter chocolates are hollow. The other fun thing is the eggs alternate between layers of 100% and white chocolate, which ends up essentially being a milk chocolate in such a creative way. I love them.

Chocolate covered nuts (especially almonds) can also fit this bill if you’re a fan, and I definitely am. I’ve loved Dick Taylor’s chocolate covered almonds for forever and I’m eyeing this variety box from Valrhona.

Peanut Butter

I am one of the crowd that believes seasonal Reese’s are better than regular and eggs are the superior holiday variant. Because of this, peanut butter is now a flavor of Easter.

Dick Taylor, a California maker I just mentioned, has a chocolate bunny that is molded out of a chocolate/peanut butter combo, which is a fun marriage of the two.

But, if you’re the kind of person who enjoys homemade projects, making your own is the best kind of endeavor. My sister and I tried our hands at it in 2018 and while they were so yummy, we decided to let them harden on a wire rack and that may not have been the best idea when they wouldn’t come off in one piece …. Learn from our mistakes to keep your peanut butter Easter eggs intact! It’s probably time for some peanut butter egg redemption.

Showstopper

Bunnies are always nice (I grew up with See’s ones myself), but there are lots of other stunning Spring-themed options out there.

I was much too late to order some of the GORGEOUS Dandelion eggs this year — they sold out quick! The large eggs, which look remarkably like the kind of eggs I hope to have someday when I have chickens, could also fit the marshmallow note since the “egg white” is marshmallow with a caramel “yolk.” The smaller praline eggs are just as pretty and sound just as yummy. (They look like the prettiest Cadbury eggs you’ve ever seen!) I am a big Dandelion fan — I’ve enjoyed their Advent Calendar since 2016. They have delicious bars and do a lovely job with the details, from packaging to confections. (Go to their cafe in San Francisco or Vegas if you ever get the chance and promise me you’ll get a brownie flight!) Consider this my note-to-self to not contemplate next year and just preorder!

Soma, a Canadian company and the maker of another advent calendar I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy, has the cutest spotted bunnies I’ve ever seen! (It’s even in the name: Cutest Bunny Ever.) They do such a beautiful job with their confections: one of these days I will order one of their cacao pod creations. Right now there’s a glorious mango passionfruit pod and a 70% Tanzania pod. I look at them longingly all season long.

Mirzam, out of the United Arab Emirates, has made chocolate eggs that are inspired by birds. The white chocolate and raspberry flamingo egg is the prettiest with its pink hue. Flamingos and raspberries are both my favorite, so this egg should be, too, but it’s the Arabian bee eater-inspired egg that has my heart. The 62% dark chocolate and pistachio combo is such a good one, I can’t help it. This year, they have a new egg (not related to a bird) called the Fireworks. It has popping candy which is doesn’t always pop in chocolate, at least in my experience. I’m curious about this take on the inclusion.

If you want a truly extravagant option, Bar and Cocoa is selling this magnificent Amedei Easter egg. All I know is that I want whatever those praline surprises are inside.

Jellybeans

I know, this is a chocolate newsletter, so what are doing, talking about these sugary things? Jellybeans are an essential part of an Easter basket. I don’t make the rules. But there’s not much debate about this: Jelly Bellys are the quintessential jellybean. I won’t take any other answer. (Just kidding, I’d love to hear what your favorite jellybean is. Or, if you agree with me, I’d love to hear what your favorite Jelly Belly flavors are. Mine are pear and grapefruit.)

Thanks, as always, for joining me on my chocolate ramblings. Email me back or message me on Instagram @ginny.chocolatist if you have any thoughts on Easter chocolate/candy. I would love to see what the Easter Bunny brings you!