Chocolate Easter Bunnies

Have you ever wondered how the chocolate Easter Bunny came about? The Easter Bunny himself is a composite of the beliefs of many cultures — some Christian, some pagan.

Eastre (ending in "re" instead of "er") was a goddess of the dawn that was associated with springtime. Eastre's symbol was the rabbit and, as we all know, the rabbit is considered the most fertile animal in the animal kingdom. A great many people believe that the modern Easter feasts developed from springtime feasts of old to honor Eastre. It's pretty obvious that's how the bunny rabbit came to be associated with Easter.

Early German settlers brought the Easter Bunny to America, and it was in Germany that the first candy shaped like a rabbit was made. It took a while for the early confectionary rabbits to turn into chocolate bunnies, but aren't we all glad that they did?

Today you can buy chocolate Easter bunnies in all sizes and either hallow or solid. Most children find a chocolate Easter Rabbit in their Easter baskets on Easter morning. There are lots of choices, though.

Chocolate Easter rabbits are made from milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. Solid chocolate Easter rabbits cost more than hallow chocolate Easter rabbits. The secret to determining the quality of the chocolate Easter rabbit, though, isn't price. If the first ingredient listed on the package is "sugar," it's not a good quality. The cheap, poor-quality chocolate Easter rabbits have a high sugar content, but if the first ingredient is "cocoa" or "chocolate," then you have found a good quality chocolate bunny.

But the most burning question is, what do you eat first — the feet, the ears, the tail, or the nose? There are theories, of course. Some say you should start with the nose, others say the feet, some say the tail. But I believe in starting at the top and working your way down — ears first!