Homemade peanut butter eggs are an easy to make, no bake recipe, and only require a few ingredients. These Reese’s copycat Easter eggs have a sweet and creamy peanut butter core wrapped in a shell of milk chocolate. You can vary the ingredients and toppings to make your very own favorite versions.
If you look up the most popular candy in America, Reese’s peanut butter cups come up #1 consistently. When you ask someone their favorite version of this candy though, almost everyone will say the Easter eggs or Christmas trees. The holiday versions just hit differently for sure. I think it’s the higher ratio of peanut butter to chocolate, but either way, the Easter egg versions are definitely awesome.

Making these at home is a simple process. Whip a few ingredients with peanut butter, shape into eggs, chill, and dip into melted chocolate. You don’t even need special candy making tools or need to temper the chocolate. I used egg-shaped cutters to help form these and stay consistent, but you can do it by hand as well.
Ingredients for Easter Peanut Butter Eggs
Butter – A little butter helps to add flavor and moisture and keep the peanut butter smooth when mixed with the powdered sugar.
Peanut Butter – Creamy peanut butter is best for the overall texture. I don’t recommend using natural style peanut butters as they can make things a little too dry and crumbly when shaping the eggs. Processed peanut butter tends to be better for candy and cookies.
Sugar – Confectioner’s sugar helps to bind everything together, as well as sweetening the peanut butter and adding volume to the candies.
Vanilla – A little bit of extract adds flavor and just enough moisture to keep the powdered sugar and peanut butter malleable and not dry.
Chocolate – For dipping and coating the eggs, baking chocolate bars are best. Reading the ingredients for a Reese’s egg, it sounds like milk chocolate is used, so that’s what I used here as well. Three 4oz milk chocolate baking bars are needed. Chocolate chips CAN be used as a cheaper alternative, but they have less cocoa butter and added stabilizers to help keep their shape in baked goods. Because of that, it makes dipping a little more difficult and the finished candies do not look as smooth.
Oil – Adding a bit of vegetable oil to the chocolate helps to thin it out for dipping. The melted chocolate with added oil should still be thick, but thin enough to pour smoothly from a spoon. Alternatively, you could also use shortening or coconut oil instead.
How to Make Peanut Butter Eggs
Line a baking sheet with wax paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl if using a hand-held mixer, add the softened butter and cream it with the paddle attachment, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and mix with the butter for about 1 minute longer.
Add the confectioner’s sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix slowly so that the sugar doesn’t fly out, slowly increasing speed to low as it comes together, about 2 minutes more. You can begin shaping immediately, but I recommend chilling the filling for 10-15 minutes first to make it easier to work with.
Measure out 1.5 tablespoons of the filling, I recommend using a med cookie scoop for this, and roll into a ball and flatten out in your hand and form into an egg shape. I used an egg-shaped cookie cutter for this and simply added the scoop of filling into the cutter and flattened it into the mold and pushed it out. This will vary depending on the size of your cutters, but I used one that was 2.5” long and ½” deep which was the perfect shape and size for a copycat.
Continue working with the filling until you’ve used it all and shaped all your eggs. Using the cookie cutter as a mold, I ended up with 21 eggs, but your mileage will vary depending on the size and thickness you make them. Refrigerate the shaped filling for at least an hour, or overnight.
After the filling has chilled, before removing from the refrigerator, melt the chocolate for dipping. You can use a double boiler, a mixing bowl set over simmering water, or the microwave. Since the chocolate doesn’t need to be tempered or heated to a specific temperature, I find microwaving it in a glass measuring cup works well since it also has a good depth for dipping as well. Break the chocolate bars into smaller pieces and place in a glass measuring cup. Microwave for 30 seconds, add the oil and stir, then microwave again for 20 seconds. Continue to microwave and stir in 20 second increments until the chocolate has a smooth and ribbony consistency. Allow the chocolate to cool for at least 7-8 minutes before trying to coat the eggs.
Using two forks, dunk the eggs into the chocolate and lift them out with a fork, tapping it to remove excess chocolate. Use the other fork to slide the chocolate coated egg off the first fork and onto a wax or silicone lined baking sheet. Continue this process until all eggs are coated. If you find the filling is losing its shape and becoming too soft, place them back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. If the chocolate feels like it’s getting too thick as you go, microwave for another 20 seconds, stir, and let cool for a minute or two before continuing.
Once all the candies have been coated, place back into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour, until the coating has fully set. Once set, they can be eaten immediately or kept refrigerated for a week or two. They also freeze well for 2-3 months.
Tips and Troubleshooting for Peanut Butter Eggs
Peanut Butter – For the best flavor and texture, use smooth, creamy, processed peanut butter. Natural peanut butter is great, but not as great for use in candies and cookies without a few tweaks. It also tends to make the filling crumblier. I love crunchy peanut butter as well, but here it can also make the filling harder to work with and crumblier and drier. An extra 2-3 tablespoons of butter might help if you use crunchy.
Chocolate – For the best coating and texture, and even ease of use when dipping, use baking chocolate bars and not chocolate chips. Candy melts are another option, but tend to use artificial flavoring, so only use high quality versions. I don’t recommend using chocolate chips, but they will work if you choose to go that route. With less cocoa butter and added stabilizers, they’re a little more difficult to work with and don’t give as smooth of a finish to the candy.
I like milk chocolate for a more authentic taste, but you could also use semisweet, dark, or bittersweet bars, or even white chocolate. White chocolate can be a little more temperamental to work with and the candy will be super sweet compared to other chocolates. You could mix different chocolate for a unique flavor all your own. I would not recommend unsweetened chocolate though. With no added sugar, unsweetened chocolate is best used in recipes like brownies where there’s sugar added to it.
Too Thick Chocolate – The melted chocolate should have a smooth and thin consistency but not watery. Mix the chocolate and oil with a spoon as it melts until it’s the right consistency. If it pours off the spoon in a ribbon like consistency, you should be good to go. If the chocolate sticks to the spoon and doesn’t stream off, add a little more oil until its thinned out.
Filling is Melting or Losing Shape – If the filling is melting or falling apart when you try to coat it, the chocolate is probably too hot. Make sure to let the chocolate cool after melting until it is just barely warm. If you’re taking a while to coat all the eggs, the filling may be too warm as well. Just pop them back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so until they’re nice and chilled again.
Chocolate is Hardening – After a while, the melted chocolate will begin to set and slowly reharden. The easy fix is just to reheat the chocolate in the microwave for 10-20 seconds and allow it to cool again slightly. If using candy melts or chocolate chips, this will happen much quicker than using baking chocolate as well.
Mixture is Too Crumbly to Form – When making the filling, the texture should be like making pie dough. Even when it feels crumbly, you should be able to squeeze it between your fingers and it holds it shape. If it’s too coarse and dry, try adding a little more butter or peanut butter, or even just a splash of water, until it’s workable.
Variations – Feel free to experiment with toppings and chocolates. Not only can you switch around the chocolates for the shell, but you could also melt dark or white chocolate and drizzle it on top or make a dark or white chocolate shell and drizzle milk chocolate over them. Be creative. Other topping ideas include a pinch of sea salt for flavor or sprinkles for festive coloring. Add those after dipping, but before the chocolate sets.
Storing Peanut Butter Eggs
Without all the stabilizers and processing behind the mass-produced candies, homemade Easter peanut butter eggs are best stored in the refrigerator. The chocolate coating tends to melt more easily in your hands. Set the eggs into an airtight container and separate layers with wax paper. They should last a week or two when refrigerated (not that they’d last that long without being gobbled up).
You can also freeze them in the same manner for 2-3 months.
📋 Recipe
Peanut Butter Eggs (Reese's Copycat)
Ingredients
Filling:
- ¼ cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter, see note
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coating:
- 12 ounces milk chocolate baking chocolate, see note
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Directions
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl if using a hand-held mixer, add the softened ¼ cup of butter and cream it with the paddle attachment, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup peanut butter and mix with the butter for about 1 minute longer.
- Add 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix slowly so that the sugar doesn’t fly out, slowly increasing speed to low as it comes together, about 2 minutes more. You can begin shaping immediately, but I recommend chilling the filling for 10-15 minutes first to make it easier to work with.
- Measure out 1.5 tablespoons of the filling, I recommend using a med cookie scoop for this, and roll into a ball and flatten out in your hand and form into an egg shape. I used an egg-shaped cookie cutter for this and simply added the scoop of filling into the cutter and flattened it into the mold and pushed it out. This will vary depending on the size of your cutters, but I used one that was 2.5” long and ½” deep which was the perfect shape and size for a copycat.
- Continue working with the filling until you’ve used it all and shaped all your eggs. Using the cookie cutter as a mold, I ended up with 21 eggs, but your mileage will vary depending on the size and thickness you make them. Refrigerate the shaped filling for at least an hour, or overnight.
- After the filling has chilled, before removing from the refrigerator, melt the chocolate for dipping. You can use a double boiler, a mixing bowl set over simmering water, or the microwave. Since the chocolate doesn’t need to be tempered or heated to a specific temperature, I find microwaving it in a glass measuring cup works well since it also has a good depth for dipping as well. Break the chocolate bars into smaller pieces and place all 12oz in a glass measuring cup. Microwave for 30 seconds, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and stir, then microwave again for 20 seconds. Continue to microwave and stir in 20 second increments until the chocolate has a smooth and ribbony consistency. Allow the chocolate to cool for at least 7-8 minutes before trying to coat the eggs.
- Using two forks, dunk the eggs into the chocolate and lift them out with a fork, tapping it to remove excess chocolate. Use the other fork to slide the chocolate coated egg off the first fork and onto a wax or silicone lined baking sheet. Continue this process until all eggs are coated. If you find the filling is losing its shape and becoming too soft, place it back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. If the chocolate feels like it’s getting too thick as you go, microwave for another 20 seconds, stir, and let cool for a minute or two before continuing.
- Once all the candies have been coated, place back into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour, until the coating has fully set. Once set, they can be eaten immediately or kept refrigerated for a week or two. They also freeze well for 2-3 months.
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