Where Are My Peeps?

There are few holidays that tempt my willpower like Easter. I always give out candy I don't like at Halloween. I put mostly non-edibles in Christmas stockings. DB knows better than to give me a giant heart shaped box of candy at Valentine's Day. I'm usually safe. Until Easter.

I don't know what it is. It's not as though I give up chocolate for Lent or anything. There's just something about Easter candy I can't resist. I'm on a diet and this is foremost on my brain, so here are the top ten reasons I'm going to stray wildly off Weight Watchers this weekend.

10. Lindor Truffle Eggs - This wasn't a problem before, but Lindor has gotten smart and started marketing their chocolates for all the holidays. I saw a bag of these at Rite Aid and I'm coveting them. I just adore the way the center melts on your tongue.

9. Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - Do not mistake my fondness for Jelly Bellys for regular old jelly beans. I hate jelly beans. Bleh. But the gourmet flavors of Jelly Belly are an entirely different story. I don't like them all, buttered popcorn is disgusting, but strawberry daquiri, pear, coconut, strawberry cheesecake, peach... YUM.

8. Coconut Eggs - Yeah, they're just an Almond Joy or Mounds repackaged for Easter, but I love them. They're also the perfect size - bigger than just one piece of Almond Joy, but not as much as eating the 2 pieces that come in the standard wrapper.

7. Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Bunnies/Eggs - My mom always used to buy what looked like a carton of eggs, but was filled with chocolate covered marshmallow eggs. We'd freeze them and nearly break our teeth eating them. Yum. Those are harder to find anymore, so I usually settle for the bunnies dipped in chocolate now.

6. Butterfinger Eggs - These little milk chocolate eggs have flecks of crunchy Butterfinger bits in them. Individually wrapped, I can keep a bag stashed away somewhere and squirrel away a piece or two as the urge strikes me.

5. Marshmallow Peeps - It used to be you could only get these at Easter, although now they've branched out into almost every holiday. I prefer the bunnies to the chicks, myself. My mom always liked to open the package and let them sit a while to harden and get stale. That doesn't work in the South, we've found, so I've had to learn to eat them soft and fresh. Darn humidity.

4. Whopper's Robin's Eggs - They're malt balls covered in a bespeckled candy shell that turn your lips funny colors. My mom's favorite and DB really likes them too.

3. Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs - Again, I know these are exactly the same as the peanut butter cups available all year long, but there's something about the egg that is harder to resist. Maybe the larger peanut butter to chocolate ratio.

2. Easter Bunny Cake - It's not candy, but a long standing tradition in my house. Every Easter when I was a kid, my mom made an Easter bunny cake out of two round cakes - one is the head and the other makes two ears and a bowtie. It was usually white cake with vanilla icing, coconut fur and jellybean decorations. The coconut has since been restricted to the ears since neither my stepdad or DB like coconut. This year, I've volunteered to make it, so I might fancy it up a little, but you have to have Easter Bunny cake.

1. Cadbury Creme Eggs - I don't even know what that goo inside is made of. All I know is its like little chocolate meth balls. Try it once and you're hooked. The caramel centered ones aren't bad either.

One thing you've probably noticed is missing - chocolate bunnies. I actually don't really like them. They taste weird to me. I don't know if its the brand or the foil or what. The solid ones are too rich, the hollow ones uninspired. Just too much chocolate at one time for me.


If you're celebrating this weekend, hope you have a happy day with your family and friends (and chocolate)! So, what's your favorite Easter treat? Is there another holiday specialty that you're incapable of resisting?

SP

PS. It's also our very own Playground Monitor's birthday today! Hope you have a happy one, PM!

PPS. Congrats to Rhonda Nelson, the winner of Molly's tea sampler from Wednesday. Send your snail mail info to playgroundmonitor@writingplayground.com to claim your prize.