Find out which Easter candy we're filling our baskets with this years—some classics, a few new-to-us candies and some extra adorable options.
Taste of Home
Most folks look forward to the magic of Christmas morning—the tree, the presents, the tasty brunch—but for a candy connoisseur like me, Easter morning is the tops. As a kid, it didn’t get much better than finding a basket overflowing with marshmallow bunnies (my favorite) and foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. (Don’t forget to check out these traditional Easter desserts, too!) Now that I’m older and don’t get regular visits from the Easter Bunny, I love wandering the aisles to find some Easter candy classics and a few new-to-me goodies.
This year I stocked up big time on a hefty assortment of Easter candy. Of course I couldn’t test all these chocolate bunnies and jelly beans alone, so I gathered a small crew to help me discern which candies should make it to your egg hunt.
Let me say what we all know is true: Holiday Reese’s are the best Reese’s. Whether it’s a pumpkin at Halloween, a tree at Christmas or an egg at Easter, these holiday-shaped candies always have a higher peanut butter to chocolate ratio. As peanut butter fiends (trust us, we know the best peanut butters!), we recognize this candy as an Easter morning must. Psst! Try our Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg copycat recipe, here.
Cadbury Creme and Chocolate Creme Eggs
Is it even Easter without classic Cadbury Eggs? It certainly wouldn’t feel quite the same without these treats. For this test we gave the classic Cadbury Creme Egg and Cadbury Chocolate Creme Egg a try. Rich and indulgent, we loved the gooey, sticky middles. The classic version was sticky sweet while the chocolate version was thick and pudding-like. We enjoyed both (along with the milk chocolate shell) and consider them Easter basket staples, however we’re not sure if we could eat the whole thing—talk about a sugar rush!
These jelly beans aren’t much to look at with that bumpy exterior, but make no mistake—they are the best jelly beans I’ve had. That dinosaur egg-looking shell is all Nerds candy coating—perfectly sugary sweet with a super satisfying crunch. The inside is chewy and packed with more fruit flavor. Combined, this checked so many boxes for me and my candy-loving pals: tart, sweet, chewy and crunchy. These are on all our shopping lists.
Peeps Delights Chocolate-Dipped Peeps
When it comes to Peeps, I find that folks either love them or leave them. And when I popped these out of the package during our taste test/pre-Easter party, it seemed like most folks were on the “leave them” side. However, the combination of creamy chocolate with the ultra-sweet, sugary Peeps converted everyone—really. Every pal on my panel said some variation of “I’m not normally a Peep person, but these are really really good.” And that was so true. We loved the chocolate marshmallow combo—it immediately got us thinking how good they’d be repurposed as s’mores or even in hot chocolate. We’re all crossing our fingers that Peeps releases a Christmas version this December! Don’t miss these 11 amazing things to do with leftover peeps.
The Cutest Candies
Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Bunnies
When it comes to chocolate bunnies, one tester summed up my thoughts exactly: “Starting one is such a project!” Enter these mini chocolate rabbits! These small confections are the perfect size—just over an inch tall—for a quick sweet fix. What’s even better is that these bunnies aren’t hollow but filled with Ghirardelli’s trademark bright and gooey caramel. Of course the fact that these little cotton-tails are adorable in and out of their packaging doesn’t hurt either! I’m personally stocking up on these to stuff candy dishes and baskets this Easter.
Lindt Chocolate Hazelnut Carrots
Taking another spot in our cute category was Lind’s adorable carrot-shape chocolates. Wrapped up in orange foil, we all fell in love with the packaging. This novel wrapped candy definitely would be the perfect accent to any basket. Plus, the mellow hazelnut flavor mixed into the chocolate set this confection apart from the others as something just slightly more sophisticated.
Still need to fill up your basket? We tried a handful of other tasty candies that are worth tucking inside:
Starburst Crazy Jelly Beans: These two-tone, dual flavor beans are a great way to get people talking! Is that combo strawberry-pineapple or strawberry-apple?
Sour Patch Bunnies: Like their kid counterpart, but bunny-shaped—perfect for sour candy fiends.
Black Forest Organic Sweet and Sour Gummies: The panel’s gummy candy aficionado gave these candies high marks—a must have for gummy fans.
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