Friday, April 10, 2009

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.

16 comments:

Playground Monitor said...

I love, love, love the Reese's peanut butter eggs. And of course, peanut butter is just filled with protein and they've discovered chocolate has antioxidants. So these are healthy! Yeah, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I like the malted milk eggs too, but not as much as Reese's eggs. And those Cadbury eggs? Blech!!!!! They are nasty. I tried one, tossed it out and never was tempted to buy another.

For a good laugh, check out the Peeps Surgery website.

Linda Winstead Jones said...

You forgot my favorite. Russell Stover Strawberry Cream Eggs. I also love the Reese's eggs and the malted milk balls, though I prefer the ones covered just in chocolate, not the hard candy shell. I just discovered Peeps in the past few years. Just what I need.

I've made that bunny cake before! The last time, the little kids said it looked evil. I have never made another.

Happy Birthday PM! :-)

LJ

Katherine Bone said...

Happy Birthday, PM!! ;) Enjoy your day.

Well... I'm a chocolate Easter Bunny fan all the way. When I was a kid we used to get the hollow ones. Blech! I wanted solid chocolate bunnies. There's just something wrong with bunnies without filling.

I've never been a fan of Peeps. They're cute but I don't like a lot of marshmellow.

What I always remember about Easter is getting up early, hunting for Easter eggs, the joy of an Easter basket, dressing up and going to church and seeing everyone look so pretty, Easter Egg hunts, and the Easter Bunny Song. ;)

Angel said...

I don't like Peeps either, but my husband and children love them. The hubby and I both love the Reese's peanut butter eggs and this year I found a peanut butter filled bunny for him.

My fave? The Snickers eggs, though technically they're only half an egg. What's up with that?

Angel

Sherry Werth said...

Happy Birthday PM!! Hope you have a great day!

I don't eat a lot of candy (would rather have something salty) so I'm safe around all these pretty decorative candies. But..if they ever make a Chex Mix Easter Bunny, I'm in trouble! :)

Happy Easter everyone!

Problem Child said...

Now I'm hungry. Gee, thanks, SP. I've been doing very well up until now, and all I can do now is think about the bag o' candy in my closet.

I will be strong! At the very least, I will feel bad when I break down...

Happy B-day, PM!

housemouse88 said...

Happy Birthday PM!!!!

I didn't know anyone else made the Easter Bunny Cake. What memories. My grandmother made one every year.

Have a great day.

Darling Geek said...

Cadbury mini-eggs...

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Okay, I'm just popping in to say hi. Because I have to admit that when you started talking about those candies, I skipped to the bottom. Don't need the temptation, don't need to know about yummy goodies I might not have known about before. No descriptions of creme filled chocolate eggs for this girl. :)

Happy Easter. I will not be eating chocolate, or succumbing to peeps or any of that stuff. :) No sirree. You ensnared me in your evil web when you foisted that bag of cinnamon jelly hearts on me at Valentine's. Not this time, chicky. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Yes, chocolate of course and whatever desserts are served.

I bought several bags of Hersheys asst. little bars, kisses, Nestle Crunch eggs - which are almost gone - I was going to save them for Sunday. Also a dk choc coconut cream egg which I always enjoyed as a kid.

Happy Easter to all.

Pat L.

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Happy Birthday, PM!! Many happy returns of the day.

I LOVE Reese's eggs. And, yes, it is the higher peanut butter to chocolate ratio that make these fantastic. But my easter isn't completle until I have a cadbury creme egg, the cadbury mini eggs (with the candy shell on the outside), peeps (bunnies not chicks), and those marshmellow egg things with the hard candy shell - I think they're called hidden eggs or something. I'm the only person in my family who eats them which is just fine with me.

I've tried not to go overboard this year because we usually end up throwing a bunch of candy away. I can't resist it for a week before Easter and I gorge for about a week after and then I'm done. No matter how much is left in my basket. The problem is you just can't get some of this stuff any other time of year so I tell myself it's okay.

Instigator

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

I see I'm not the only one to get fired up about Easter candy. I'm not going to overindulge, though. This morning, my weight had dropped down into a new "decade" and I'm determined to stay there...

Unknown said...

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE PLAYGROUND MONITOR!

Why does all these holidays have to have all of these goodies. I love Spice jelly beans and those little coconut birds nest with the jelly bean in them for eggs. I think Russal Stovers makes them and I forgot to look for one the other day when in town.

Jane said...

Happy Birthday, PM.

I love the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, Robin's Eggs and the Dove chocolate bunny. I don't like the taste of Peeps, but I buy them because they're so cute. Happy Easter.

M.V.Freeman said...

I'm a sucker for for the chocolate cocunut eggs, and reeces peanut butter eggs...

Than there are the Easter colored M&M's.....

:)

(and have a great Birthday PM)

EllenToo said...

Happy Birthday PM. My favorites are Reese's Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs, Cadbury's Creme Eggs, and Peeps. Honestly I'll anything chocolate covered except coconut.