Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
If it seems like Easter snuck up on us this year, you’re right. Depending on the timing of the full moon and the equinox each year, Easter can fall on a Sunday anywhere between March 24 and April 25. Technically, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. So even if it doesn’t yet feel like spring, hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way. And, yes, it was raining sideways as I started writing this.
Rain or shine, Easter means spring is here. Time for making all the pretty quiches, colorful salads and veggies, and desserts in all the pastel shades of Peeps and chocolate-coated eggs. In a perfect world I dream of making macarons in a pastel rainbow. But with Easter only four days away, I need to hurry up and decide between lemon meringue or banana cream pie, something chocolate or carrot cake - which is really just about the cream cheese frosting.
In the meantime, I came across these two versions of “the best Easter cookies” which call for mini eggs (translated to Cadbury mini milk chocolate eggs). I decided this would be my warmup. You know, in case there’s no other chocolate in the forecast. I had to make both to determine which one was truly the best.
Mini Egg Crackle Cookies and Fudgy Mini Egg Brownie Cookies
One for the all-in chocolate lover and one for the bit more subdued chocolate lover.
The Brownie Version
I started with the all-in chocolate decadent version, Fudgy Mini Egg Brownie Cookies, simply because they asked for a 30-45 minute chill in the fridge.
I like using milk chocolate on top so you see the contrast in the two chocolate colors.
Secret Ingredient: A smidge of espresso powder (and flaky sea salt naturally).
Chocolate: Calls for an entire bag of mini eggs. I used way less and just went by color. Chop and mix in most of the mini eggs but save a large handful to push into the tops of the cookies. For the chocolate, I used a mix of dark and milk. Save some chunks of milk chocolate to place on top. This way the milk chocolate will provide contrast to the darker brownie dough.
Yield: Makes 8 cookies about 3 ½ inches in diameter. Perfect for the brownie lover.
The Slightly Subdued Chocolate Chip Version
Next up were the ones that look more like a traditional chocolate chip cookie. But don’t underestimate these Mini Egg Crackle Cookies.
I had to scoot these cookies back into place since they spread too much. Not a problem.
Secret Ingredient: 1 cup of Rice Krispies cereal makes these “crackle” in a Nestle Crunch kind of way. And don’t forget the flaky sea salt, which can go on before or after baking.
Chocolate: I couldn’t find any more Cadbury eggs within a 30-minute driving radius of my little village, so, I used the pastel spring M&Ms instead. I had a few mini eggs left and pressed those into the top of the cookies before going in the oven. I used dark chocolate in these, reserving a few chunks to place on top for a melty effect.
Yield: The recipe said 8-10 cookies. I made 12.
Helpful tips:
Scoop the cookies: Use a large ice cream scoop to shape heaping balls of the approximate same size. I started to weigh and ditched that idea!
Scoot the cookies: When they come out of the oven and are still hot, use a ring or round glass/bowl to scoot the cookies into as perfect rounds as you can. Note: The crackle cookies spread. The recipe said space 2” apart … when I opened the oven after 10 minutes, mine were basically touching each other. Not to panic. After one more minute, I used a ring to nudge them back into smaller circles while they were still warm.
Cool the cookies: Keep the crackly ones on the pan for 5-10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Let the brownie version sit for 15 minutes.
NOTE: I have the big Nordic Ware Big Sheet so was able to bake each recipe in one batch. Love this pan!
Final Verdict:
The chocolate ones are rich! Like I couldn’t eat an entire one in one sitting. Practice portion control. Cut a chunk off when you walk by throughout the day. But perfect for the brownie lover or if you really need a chocolate fix.
The crackle cookies were a home run, even with the nudge to keep them in shape. The crunchiness makes them more interesting than a chocolate chip cookie. If you didn’t know, I don’t think you’d guess that it was Rice Krispies that provided the crunchy texture. Also, I liked the M&Ms better than the mini eggs. To mean these were the perfect amount of crispiness, chocolate meltiness (if you eat warm) and degree of sweetness.
The winner. So much more than your average chocolate chip cookie.
Okay, I’m warmed up now. Just need to narrow down the dessert options … waiting for a famous PNW sun break and then I’m off to a bigger coastal town in search of my baking ingredients.
Happy Easter! Happy spring baking!