Holy cow, where has April gone? It seems like just last week B and I were going to Ash Wednesday Mass and I was preparing to give up meat yet again for Lent.

Anyway, the 40ish days have pretty much concluded – meaning, not only am I going to be eating meat again soon, but we also get to prepare Easter desserts!

This year, I’ll be making a few of my favorite cookie dough truffles or cookie balls – and shaping them like eggs so that they become … voila! Easter Egg Cookie Dough Balls. You can really make these with any of your favorite truffle recipes, so I choose the chocolate chip cookie recipe but dipped in white chocolate (you can do regular chocolate if you like too, they may be harder to decorate though):

Cookie Dough Easter Eggs

Here’s what you need:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 14 oz bag of candy coating

Here’s what you do:

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add milk and vanilla and mix on high speed with an electric mixer.
2. Stir in flour on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in mini chocolate chips.
3. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour or overnight.
4. When dough is firm enough to handle, form dough into 1″ round balls. Then shape into somewhat flattened egg shapes and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.
5. Place dough ball-filled sheet in freezer and let chill for  at least 30 minutes.
6. After cookie dough balls have hardened in the freezer, it’s time to dip them in the melted chocolate! Melt chocolate candy coating in the microwave or according to package directions. Using a fork, dip eggs into melted milk chocolate and coat completely.
7. Return chocolate-covered balls to parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Chill until set.
8. Enjoy! They’re pretty awesome.

To decorate:

• Sprinkles: while melting chocolate is wet on the egg, sprinkle colored sugars or sprinkles over egg.
• Drizzled chocolate: melt different colored melting chocolate according to package directions – or add food coloring to white chocolate – and use a fork to drizzle colored chocolate over the white chocolate base. If chocolate is too thick to drizzle, add some shortening to thin out chocolate a little. Do not add too much – and do not add water to chocolate! I just drizzled with my fork, but here is some more info on drizzling technique.

There are so many variations on this recipe – you could make them in so many different flavors including Birthday Cake Truffles, Cookies and Cream Truffles, Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles, Baileys Truffles and more! Just choose you favorite, shape them into eggs and you’re done.

Cookie dough is shaped and ready to chill

be careful – they’re addicting!

decorate with sprinkles or drizzle with chocolate

Enjoy! What are you baking for Easter? Do you have a favorite truffle recipe?