Inside Out Reese Easter Eggs

Say what?  Yep, I went there.

 

I've been seeing all kinds of recipes for homemade Reese eggs all over the Internets and decided I wanted to give it a try myself.  Among my favorite childhood Easter memories are finding the egg hidden in my grandparents' mailbox every year, chowing down on my mom's dye stained deviled eggs and sinking my teeth into these chocolatey, peanut buttery treats.  Now don't get me wrong, nothing can replace the original, but there is something about making your own that just makes it taste even more special.

The idea to make the inside out began when I realized I did not have regular peanut butter, but I did have dark chocolate peanut butter.  Not sure what kind of normal person has chocolate pb and not regular but let's just go with it.  From there, a dream was brought to life...read on for the dirty details.

Inside Out Reese Easter Eggs
Makes about 15 eggs

Ingredients:
3/4 c. chocolate peanut butter (I used Dark Chocolate Dreams from Peanut Butter & Co.)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 stick butter
2 c. powdered sugar
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
10 oz. peanut butter chips
2 tbsp. vegetable shortening
jimmies or your choice of decorations

Mix peanut butter, vanilla, butter and powdered sugar together.  Add melted chocolate chips to mixture.  Mixture will be slightly crumbly.  Form dough into "eggs" using your hands.  Be sure to press the mixture firmly together.  Place eggs on a wax paper or silicone mat lined baking sheet and freeze until firm (roughly an hour).  

Ok, they aren't exactly cute yet, but bear with me.

Next, melt the peanut butter chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl.  I melted mine for about 20 seconds at a time stirring between until completely melted.  Dip each egg in the peanut butter, covering to coat.  I scooped mine out with a fork and transferred back to the baking sheet.  Quickly sprinkle with jimmies before peanut butter coating sets.

 

Look!  Chocolate on the inside, peanut butter on the outside!

If you have leftover melted peanut butter, go ahead and make yourself some pb bark, it's good for the soul!

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

What surprising twists have you tried on a classic recipe?  Feel free to share links in the comments!