Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies

Ham is a staple at any and all of our family's gatherings for Easter. I have 101 uses for leftover ham, but Easter candy is trickier. I could just hang onto it, especially if I clear out the leftover Halloween candy. Or I could put it to good use so that I’m not still sprinkling cupcakes and ice cream with pastel-colored eggs come September.

Luckily, Easter has my favorite candy of any holiday (and I celebrate many a candy holiday). Cadbury Mini Eggs are one of my ultimate weaknesses, and they’re showcased wonderfully in these cookies.

Chopping the eggs is an arduous process. You could also put them in a bag and smash them, although you might lose some of the pretty shells. You could also substitute M&Ms, chocolate chips or any other similar candy that you have on hand.

Now, does anyone have any good recipes for a bunch of half-eaten chocolate bunnies?

Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen

½ cup butter-flavored shortening
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons baking cocoa
2½ cups flour
1 10-ounce bag Cadbury Mini Eggs
½ cup milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Chop Mini Eggs in halves or thirds, or bang on them in a resealable bag until they’re crumbled.

I feel strongly about preserving the integrity of my Mini Eggs, so I’m a chopper. Although I have to eat every third egg just to keep up my strength.

3. Cream together the shortening, butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, and combine.

4. Stir in baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder, and then stir in flour. Gently fold in candies and chocolate chips.

5. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets and gently shape the cookies.

6. Bake 8-10 minutes and cool on cooling racks.

Pasta e Fagiole Soup

My little man’s favorite food is soup (except when it’s cupcakes), and we typically make at least one pot of soup each week. Soups with pasta and beans are tops in his book, and we created this light and flavorful soup a few weeks ago.

The soup gets a lot of flavor from a lot of sautéing, as you’ll notice in the steps. Add ingredient, sauté. Add ingredient, sauté. Each ingredient cooks separately and releases its own flavor to the pot.

This process starts with sautéing pancetta. You can easily substitute bacon, although it might be a bit chewier in the soup. You can also substitute chopped ham, or even a half-pound of ground beef or Italian sausage, to make the soup heartier. (You could also omit the meat entirely.)

A small pasta is preferable in this soup. Ditalini is pretty easy to find, but the little man recommends the slightly larger mezzi tubetti. He also recommends wearing a piece of cooked mezzi tubetti on each of your fingers while you eat.

And I recommend serving this soup with a swirl of olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the end, because they really do give the soup extra taste and richness.

We both insist that you serve the soup with hot, garlicky breadsticks.

Jack’s Pasta e Fagioli Makes 6 servings

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 ounces pancetta, finely chopped

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 ounces tomato paste

2 cans small white beans, rinsed and drained

5 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup tubetti or ditalini

Additional salt and pepper, to taste

Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add pancetta and saute until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes.

2. Add onion and saute until softened and golden, about 5 minutes.

3. Add garlic and saute about 1 minute.

4. Add tomato paste. Saute about 2-3 minutes, or until tomato paste starts to turn a rusty color.

5. Add beans, broth, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

6. Add pasta and increase heat to medium. Cover and cook until pasta is tender, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

7. Serve in bowls. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and Parmesan.