Chocolate and Vanilla Easter Egg Cookies

Pihikete Hēki Aranga – Easter Egg Biscuits

Kua tae mai te Aranga (Easter has arrived)! I love this time to get together with friends and whānau and eat good food together. Our kids love doing an Easter Egg hunt but there are usually a whole heap of hēki Aranga (Easter eggs) left over as they are usually on the extra sweet side. So, I created this super fun recipe to flesh out those leftover hēki (eggs) or the ones that you want to make go a little further. We start with a pokenga pata parauri (brown butter dough). Then, the dough is split in to two flavours, wanira (vanilla) and kōkō (cocoa). We make the kōkō (cocoa) one the base of the pihikete (cookies) and place hēki karamea (caramel eggs) on top along with hēki māngohe (marshmallow eggs), an option of pata pīnati (peanut butter) for a savoury touch and then drape over the pokenga wanira (vanilla dough). If you like extra drama on top, add a big slice of māngohe (marshmallow) on top of each cookie, half way through the baking. It puffs up and creates a fun, stretchy eating experience.

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Easter Egg Cookies – Pihikete Hēki Aranga

A chocolate and vanilla cookie made from one dough, stuffed with mini caramel eggs and raspberry marshmallow eggs with an option of peanut butter for a savoury note.

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Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 20 cookies

Ingredients

The Brown Butter

• 190 g pata (butter)

The Easter Eggs – Ngā Hēki Aranga

• 20 – 30 (230 – 345 g) hēki karamea iti (small caramello eggs). Chill in the fridge for an hour before use so they are easier to slice.
• 180 g hēki māngohe (marshmallow eggs). I use the Potter Brothers ones with raspberry marshmallow. Chill in the fridge for an hour before use so they are easier to slice.

The Cookie Dough – Te Pokenga Pihikete

• 1 tbsp wanira (vanilla)
• ½ C (100 g) huka hāura (brown sugar)
• ½ C (110 g) huka one (caster sugar)
• 1 tsp tote (salt, fine)
• 2 hēki (eggs, size 7)
• 1 ¾ C (260 g) puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
• ¼ C kōkō (cocoa, dutch is best)
• ¼ C (35 g) puehu parāoa anō (extra flour)
• ½ tsp pēkana paura (baking powder)

Optional Addition (my choice every time!)

• 20 tsp (160 g) pata pīnati māeneene (smooth peanut butter)

Instructions

The Brown Butter – Te Pata Parauri

• Add the chopped pata (butter) in to a medium sized pot or pan. Set over medium-high heat. First it will melt, then the milk fats will start to separate – these are the white, floaty bits. Stir occasionally here so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
• Keep it on the heat and eventually the butter will start to foam. Stir it a little bit and allow the brown bits to float to the top. It should smell nutty. (Use the video as a guide). From here, stir it a little for another 30 seconds or so so the butter browns further. 
• Remove from the heat and pour the pata parauri (brown butter), along with all the brown bits into a large heat-proof bowl.

  Allow to cool for ten minutes as you prep the hēki Aranga (Easter eggs).

The Easter Eggs – Ngā Hēki Aranga

• Remove the foil off the hēki karamea (caramello eggs) and chop each one in to two or three pieces on a chopping board. Keep the pieces together as you cut them. You can either use one hēki (egg) or 1 ½ hēki (eggs) per cookie.

  Place them in the pākatio (freezer) to chill.
• Cut the hēki māngohe (marshmallow eggs) in to 40 small pieces and 20 larger strips. The small pieces go inside the pihikete and the large one goes on top. You can omit the larger pieces if you want.

  Add them to the pākatio (freezer). This helps the cookies not explode too much when baking.

The Cookie Dough – Te Pokenga Pihikete

• After 10 minutes, add the wanira (vanilla), huka hāura (brown sugar), huka one (caster sugar) and tote (salt) in to the pata parauri (brown butter).

  Whisk it all together to combine.
• Add both of the hēki (eggs) and whip until a smooth mixture forms.
• Add the puehu parāoa noa (flour) and fold together with until thick.
• Remove 1 ¼ cups of the mixture and add it to a seperate bowl.

  Stir through ¼ cup of kōkō (cocoa) in to one of the mixtures. Add to the pouaka makariri (refrigerator).
• To the remaining mixture, add ¼ cup of puehu parāoa anō (extra plain flour) and pēkana paura (baking powder). Stir it through and add to the pouaka makariri (refrigerator).

  Leave the two flavours in the pouaka makariri (refrigerator) for 10 minutes. This will thicken the mixture.
• Once chilled, remove each dough and roughly roll in to 20 small balls. You will end up with 20 vanilla flavoured and 20 chocolate flavoured.
• Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
• Add a piece of the pokenga tiakarete (chocolate dough) on to the tray and flatten it with your fingers. Add 2 small pieces of the hēki māngohe (marshmallow egg) and 3-5 pieces of the hēki karamea (caramel eggs) on top, in a pile.

  Note: Don't add too much marshmallow in the inside of the cookie as it makes for an exploding biscuit.
• If you are using it, add the blob of pata pīnati (peanut butter) on top.
• Flatten out the pokenga wanira (vanilla dough) with your hands and drape it over the tiakarete (chocolate). Press around the edge to seal it.
• Continue this pattern until you get ten pihikete (biscuits) on the tray. Add the tray and the pihikete (biscuits) to the pouaka makariri (refrigerator).

  Chill for 20 minutes or up to a few days. See the note below.
• Repeat this process with the remaining dough, adding ten more pihikete (biscuits) on to the tray. Chill for 20 minutes before baking.
• When the biscuits have chilled for 20 minutes, bake for 15 minutes in total.
• If you want the marshmallow drama on the top like I have done, place the frozen large strips of māngohe (marshmallow) on top once the pihikete (biscuits) have been baking for 10 minutes. Then bake for 5 more minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 170 °C.
• Once baked, remove from them from the oven and give them 10 minutes to cool before enjoying with a nice cup of miraka (milk) or kawhe (coffee).

Making these ahead of time.

• You can keep the pihikete (biscuits), pre-make in the fridge for a couple of days before baking them. Once they have chilled for 20 minutes, transfer them to a sealed container and bake them over the next few days when you are ready.

Video