Easter Basket Picks

With a nationwide egg shortage, here are alternative picks for the Easter bunny to put in his basket

Peeps aren’t just for kids. Photo by Nicole Danna

This Sunday, many will celebrate Easter with an Easter basket. Traditionally, the basket is lined with fake grass and filled with colorful Easter eggs.

This year, however, the Easter Bunny might not be able to get his hands on a dozen eggs to color. With a nationwide egg shortage, stores are limiting the number of eggs sold to customers (my local Whole Foods, for example, is limiting the purchase of eggs to one dozen per customer). Plus, with a dozen eggs selling for nearly ten dollars a dozen in some cities, it only makes economic sense if you’re going to eat those eggs and not just display them.

So what’s an Easter Bunny to do? Don’t fret. Here are the best Easter Basket picks.

Lindt Bunny

Courtesy of Lindt

No Easter is Easter without a chocolate bunny. However, most of these adorable creatures are made from cheap chocolate. When I discovered Lindt bunnies, my world changed. Sure, there are more expensive chocolate bunnies, made at small custom chocolate shops, but Lindt is the superior bunny that can be found everywhere. The Lindt bunny also comes in a plethora of flavors, including dark chocolate, hazelnut, white chocolate, and a vegan bunny. There’s a Lindt to make every “bunny” happy.

Magic Ramen by Chef Woo

These cheerful cups of instant ramen have a magic trick inside. When hot water is added to the cup, the noodles turn pink or blue thanks to natural vegetable coloring. Though chicken-flavored, the ramen is actually vegetarian, halal, and kosher. It’s a nice savory addition to an otherwise sweet-filled basket. Plus, there’s a bunny on the cup (and the ramen is delicious).

Peeps

First and foremost, Peeps aren’t just for kids — or even eating. For years, people have been using Peeps as an art medium. The Racine Art Museum hosts an annual “Peep” show. Years ago, a bartender friend of mine made a “Zombie Peep” cocktail by embedding a blackberry half into a Peep chick skull, drizzling grenadine from its beak, and floating it in a Cosmo. Buy a ton of Peeps and let your creativity go wild — or just chomp down on these adorable marshmallow animals.

Cadbury Creme Eggs

Another Easter classic, the Cadbury Creme Eggs has become part of our zeitgeist. And there’s so much to love about them. The Cadbury Company chooses an Easter bunny from thousands of rescued pet entries, with the winner getting a spot in the annual Easter commercial, plus a donation to a rescue charity. This year, Crash, a one-eyes rescue cat from Boise, Idaho won the ears. Crash will receive a cash prize of $5,000 for himself, with an additional $5,000 given to Simply Cats, the rescue center where Crash lives (and we suspect Crash will find a forever home soon). There are also literally thousands of recipes that call for Cadbury Creme Eggs — from fried Cadbury Eggs to boozy shots.