Easter Candy: Filling Your Easter Baskets with Holiday Favorites
Nothing brings out the spirit of "I want candy" in a child quite like the sight of Easter candy treats in the grocery store. The bright colors and foil wrappers promise summer and sweetness, and it does not hurt that Easter follows the long, dark winter in Northern climes. Furthermore, many Christians observe Lent by forsaking chocolate and/or other sweets, which adds to the anticipation of Easter as a long awaited feast of chocolate and seasonal candies.
These are some of the candies traditionally included in Easter baskets:
Jelly Beans
Jelly beans are a year round favorite often included in Easter baskets due to their egg shape. Gourmet jelly beans like Jelly Belly candy come in dozens of flavors, every color of the rainbow. Individual flavors are available for purists with personal favorites. You can purchase several flavors and create your own mix, or choose from variety bags of complementary flavors - tropical or spicy or sour.
Malt Eggs
This confection features a hard shell over a malt center and comes in pastel colors that are often speckled. Malt eggs are larger than jelly beans and provide a satisfying crunch when you bite into them.
Marshmallow Treats
Lighter than air and coated in sugar, these candies are like biting into a cloud. Although these candies are now available through the year in a variety of seasonal shapes for different holidays, traditional marshmallow treats were shaped as yellow chicks for Easter.
Chocolate Bunnies
The centerpiece of an Easter basket is the large chocolate bunny. You have many options when choosing a chocolate bunny:
*White or milk chocolate?
*Solid or hollow?
*Foil wrapped or decorated?
You may want to include small, foil wrapped chocolate bunnies among the jelly beans and other eggs in the basket so your children will have single serving bites of solid chocolate to savor and may opt to display their large chocolate bunnies for a few days.
Chocolate Covered Eggs
You can find chocolate covered eggs with nearly every imaginable filling - peanut butter, caramel, crispy rice to name a few of the options. Filling Easter baskets with a variety of chocolate eggs helps ensure that everyone gets a few of their favorites each year.
When filling your children's Easter baskets with chocolate candy, consider you are assembling your own personal box of candy and be sure to include not only your favorites, but theirs as well. Celebrate the season with the bright colors, fun flavors, and chocolate fantasies we have come to associate with spring.
