Surprise Filled Chocolate Bunnies

The smell of chocolate evokes memories of

Easter more than even Christmas.  It reminds me

of the chocolate Easter bunnies we always received

in our baskets, and of memories of my Aunt

Ionia always complaining about how my dad used

to bit the ears off her chocolate Easter bunny

when they were little.  He would just laugh every

time she told on him!

I love to mold chocolate as well as dip it

and I have quite a collection of Easter bunny

molds, vintage metal ones as well as plastic

ones.  Some of the plastic ones I have had for

over 30 years so I guess they technically count

as vintage.  They still have their sticker on them.

I got them for $.75!!

I love to make my own chocolate bunnies, but this 

year I decided it would be fun to make them hollow

and fill them with some treats.

Of course I had to sacrifice one to show you the

treats.  I plan on placing them on top of a cake

and then letting the little ones break them with

a hammer before we slice the cake for Easter Sunday

dinner.

I made up a mixture of favorite Easter candies 

to fill them with.

This is the grand dame of the bunnies.  She takes

about 2 pounds of chocolate to fill.  She is made

from a plastic mold.  

To make the bunnies, melt the temper the chocolate,

or use good quality chocolate coating discs, like

Ghiradelli, and fill half the mold.  Place the mold

pieces together and secure with clips or large

paper clips.  Tilt the mold from side to side to

fill entire mold and shake it to remove bubbles.

Place in fridge for five minutes and then turn 

over to evenly distribute the chocolate.  

Leave in fridge about 15 minutes, and then I

pop it into the freezer for about 5 minutes so

it releases easily from the mold.

Don't worry if you have a problem releasing

one, you can always remelt and try again. 

In order to fill the bunnies with treats, I 

heated a large frosting tip on the stove and

used it to melt a hole in the bottom of the bunnies.

Now she is all ready to fill.

When handling the finished product, use gloves to

keep the heat from your hands from melting

the chocolate.

Next I placed a dab of chocolate on a piece of

parchment paper, big enough to cover the

hole in the bottom of the bunny.  Then quickly

place that over the hole in bunny and then

stand the bunny up while the chocolate dries.

If there is excess chocolate around the base of

the bunny, use a toothpick to cut the excess away

while the chocolate is still liquid.

I had to make a darling white chocolate lamb too.

The bunnies got all dolled up with some eggs and

grass and even a little fondant flower by using melted

chocolate to stick the decorations on.

I can't wait to see the kiddies break open these

fun chocolate bunnies and lamb.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope your

Easter Sunday is wonderful, filled with the

joy of the resurrection and family and friends.

I will be posting with 

Spring and Easter Joys