This idea sounded great in theory. And in actuality, they didn’t turn out so bad. Just a bit…chewy.
So here’s the deal: Cadbury Crème Eggs are a once-a-year guilty pleasure every spring, and we were inspired to jazz them up a bit and use them in a recipe.
We found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that didn’t make a bazillion – and by “bazillion” we mean three dozen – cookies in one batch. It’s a David Lebovitz recipe posted on the 101 Cookbooks blog. We made a few modifications, but not to the essential ingredients since so much of baking is chemistry. We also recommend weighing ingredients that have gram weights next to them for a more accurate baking experience.
Pop a few Cadbury eggs into the freezer the night before – or a couple of hours before – you’re ready to bake. Preheat oven to 300F and line cookie sheet with a Silpat. You can use other silicone baking mats, but nothing we’ve found compares in quality to the original. The recipe recommends that you bake the cookies in the upper third of the oven, but we’re not sure that it makes a big difference.
Beat 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (120 grams) light brown sugar, and 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Beat until smooth and then mix in 1 large egg, 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp. baking soda. Then add 1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour and 1/4 tsp. salt to the mixture.
At this point, we took three crème eggs out of the freezer and chopped them into chocolate chip-sized chunks. You must work quickly as the sugary inner goo of the eggs begins to thaw quite fast. Add those sugary chocolate bits to the mixture and put in another cup (eyeball it) of semi-sweet chips. We added some white chocolate chips, too! The recipe calls for nuts, but for this version, that was overkill.
Roll dough into balls comparable to the size of a ping pong or golf ball. Space them far apart – they spread out as they bake. We put only six cookies on each sheet. They were golden brown in about 20 minutes, give or take.
THE VERDICT: The base cookie recipe was good, but the sugary Cadbury egg goo got very hard when baked, so it sticks to your teeth. Maybe that’s your “thing,” but we weren’t crazy about it. In our opinion, the runniness of the goo is the best part of the Cadbury Crème Egg experience, so we probably won’t attempt this recipe in the future.
Wow, this is some cookie in terms of sweet. A rich cookie-candy combo such as this may seem to be over the top, but we’re interested in covering all types of food, not just those with a healthy reputation. How do you fit sweets into your eating pattern and maintain overall health? Nutrition is not a one shot deal, which is why enjoying rich cookies every so often does not make or break our health. We recommend including these as a dessert item with a meal rather than on their own, as we do many other sweets. It helps end the meal, leaves us feeling more satisfied, and keeps the focus on enjoyment. Portion a few cookies ahead of time and plan to share or freeze the rest.
Have you baked with Cadbury Crème Eggs? What’s your favorite way to enjoy them?
Very interesting. I wouldn’t have thought of chopping up frozen creme eggs. Perhaps using a whole mini creme egg stuffed-cookie-style would reduce the hardening of the filling. This calls for more experiments! 🙂
Good idea about the mini creme eggs. I’ll bet this recipe would work well with them: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PeanutButterCupCookies.html
I have never tried cooking with them, however, as I try to avoid them altogether. I prefer the Galaxy caramel egg!
I agree, the thought of food sticking to my mouth does not appeal to me.
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