The hunt turns up Mom’s eggs
You could say that I’m two days late for Easter.
Or that I’m 383 days early for next Easter (it’s April 21, 2019).
But what I’m going to share — a recipe for chocolate candy — can be made anytime.
It’s not just any chocolate candy. It’s the Easter Eggs recipe from my beloved late Mom’s recipe files. And by “files” I mean it was written — in her beautiful Catholic-school cursive — on lined paper ripped from a notebook, folded into quarters and nested inside the cover of the worn blue spiral-bound Glyndon Elementary School Cookbook (in which all the good recipes are tucked) that’s still perched on top of my family home’s refrigerator.
Now that homespun community cookbook, a fundraiser for my school in Reisterstown, Md., long before the days of Pinterest, is still a source of humor for the family. Mom contributed several recipes to it. Tried-and-true recipes, like her Shoofly Cupcakes, were submitted under her name. And then totally random recipes she never tried (“Reuben Squares? What in the heck are Reuben Squares?! We’ve never eaten those!”) were submitted under “Jenny” Christman’s name — that would be me.
I ribbed her so much about the Reuben Squares — made not with rye bread, but with Bisquick, of all things, and probably from a recipe printed on the box — that she finally did prepare the appetizer of corned beef and Russian dressing once. Turns out Jenny Christman’s Reuben Squares were not half-bad. Maybe I’ll share that recipe at another untimely time … like 383 days before a future St. Patrick’s Day.
Back to candy. I had a hankering for those childhood eggs, and nothing I found online looked quite right. No recipes involved Mom’s mysterious, magical ingredient of Gulf Wax. The wax is not found in stores next to food, it’s with the canning supplies. Says the box, “Household Paraffin Wax For Canning, Candlemaking and Many Other Uses,” including waxing one’s surfboard. Yes, that stuff. It’s actually melted in this recipe.
Now, nowhere on the Gulf Wax box does it say it’s actually edible, so ingest at your own risk. But home cooks have long used the stuff to make their melted chocolate harden/glossy. I’ve eaten countless candies made with it, and I’m still alive and well. But leave it out of your eggs if you wish. Chicken.
Dad recently found it for me, and now I’m sharing with you: Mom’s treasured recipe for peanut butter and coconut eggs made from one basic batter. He and I both made batches this year. (I tried to get fancy with colored candy melts and made molded decorations that I applied to the wet chocolate; they covered the ugly skewer holes from dipping
and they helped me identify flavors — purple for peanut butter and “canary” for coconut.)
These eggs (or balls or hearts or however you might want to shape them) are exceedingly sweet and rich. I hope you’ll enjoy them as we have.
Here’s wishing you a happy, waxy next Easter!
Easter Eggs
Source: Unknown. Recipe as copied from Cathy Christman with subtle tweaking and notes from “Jenny.”
Basic Batter:
2 pounds powdered sugar ½ pound butter or margarine
(softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dash salt
5-6 teaspoons milk Mix all ingredients together “thoroughly with your hands. It becomes too stiff for an electric mixer.” (Note: Jenny concurs. She stubbornly tried using her Kitchen Aid mixer, and it was a struggle. Always listen to your mother.) Divide batter in half to make both Peanut Butter and Coconut Eggs — 18-20 of each. If you prefer to make just one kind of egg, use all of the basic batter and either double the peanut butter or double the coconut amounts listed below for 36-40 eggs.
For Peanut Butter Eggs:
1 cup peanut butter Add one cup of peanut butter to half the basic batter and mix until combined. Roll into small-sized eggs, place on a sheet pan lined with wax paper and refrigerate for 24 hours (note: freezing for about an hour works fine too). Using a skewer, dip eggs individually in warm chocolate coating, allowing excess to drip off, place back on sheet pan and refrigerate until coating is fully hardened. For Coconut Eggs:
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut or to taste
Add one cup of coconut to half the basic batter and mix until combined. Roll into smallsized eggs, place on a sheet pan lined with wax paper and refrigerate for 24 hours (note: freezing for about an hour works fine too). Using a skewer, dip eggs individually in warm chocolate coating, allowing excess to drip off, place back on sheet pan and refrigerate until coating is fully hardened.
Chocolate Coating:
1/3 of one block of paraffin wax (optional), cut into smaller pieces
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate (note: I used semi-sweet), cut into smaller pieces In a double boiler over medium heat, melt wax, stirring often. When melted, add chocolate, stirring often. Reduce heat to low while dipping eggs.
Wax eloquent. Email: jchristman@arkansasonline.com
What’s in a Dame is a weekly report from the woman ’hood.