Tag: chocolate bunny

Filling Easter Baskets & Feeding Those Less Fortunate

Chocolate bunnies have been part of the Easter tradition for a very long time. This year, we at The Happy Chocolatier will again add another element to the Easter chocolate and candy tradition: feeding those less fortunate.

Parents fill Easter baskets with chocolate bunnies and other treats every year. Easter Sunday is a time of joy as Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. It is also a time of celebration and fun for children as they awake to find their Easter baskets brimming with treats like chocolate bunnies, buttercream eggs, foiled chocolate eggs, jelly beans and much more.

This year when people purchase Easter chocolates and candy from The Happy Chocolatier, they will be adding another element of joy to the season. The Happy Chocolatier is going to donate a portion of sales from Easter candy purchases to Acton Community Supper and Food Pantry.

So, while we are all enjoying the holiday with our families, we can also know that a part of our Easter celebration helped to feed those less fortunate. Jesus did ask us to feed the hungry, right? Acton Community Supper and Food Pantry distributes 291,275 pounds of food to an average of 754 individuals each month. That’s a lot of families and we’d love to help them out.

So why IS chocolate part of the Easter tradition?

Every spring chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs arrive in shops announcing the coming of Easter. But why?

In pre-Christian pagan times, spring was celebrated by giving thanks to the ancient goddess of fertility Eostre—from which “Easter” derived its name. Since the rabbit was recognized as a symbol of fertility and new life, it became associated with the rituals of Easter and spring.

According to the National Confectioner’s Association, Whitman’s Chocolates was one of the first American manufacturers to produce chocolate bunnies in 1842, but the popularity of the bunny mold didn’t pick up speed until the turn of the 20th century. In 1916, Bortz chocolate factory began mass-producing the creamy confection, and over the decades many chocolate makers began making their own version of the chocolate bunny. Today, more than 90 million chocolate bunnies are produced each year!

Many small chocolate shops like The Happy Chocolatier still make bunnies by hand. With the evolution of the chocolate bunny one will find many varieties to choose from – chocolate bunnies filled with everything from cookie pieces to jelly beans and M&Ms. However, the plain milk chocolate bunny remains the most popular version.

The method of biting into a chocolate bunny has become a tradition in itself. More than 75 percent of Americans go for the ears first. What do you do? Regardless of how you plan your first bite, one thing is for certain: Easter bunnies have become one of the sweetest parts of the springtime season.

Chocolate Easter Eggs

Eggs have been associated with the Christian festival of Easter, which celebrates the death and resurrection of Christ, since the early days of the church. However, Christian customs connected with Easter eggs are to some extent adaptations of ancient pagan practices related to spring rites.

The earliest Easter eggs were hen or duck eggs decorated at home in bright colors with vegetable dye and charcoal. Orthodox Christians and many cultures continue to dye Easter eggs, often decorating them with flowers. The Victorians had cardboard, ‘plush’ and satin covered eggs filled with Easter gifts and chocolates.

Chocolate Easter eggs were first made in Europe in the early 19th century, with France and Germany taking the lead in this new confection. milk chocolate bunnies, eggs and pops being made. Some early eggs were solid, as the technique for mass producing molded chocolate had not been devised. The production of the first hollow chocolate eggs was painstaking, as the molds were lined with paste chocolate one at a time. Well, this handmade tradition still exists in smaller chocolate shops like The Happy Chocolatier.

Chocolate eggs are produced in milk, white and dark chocolate and available in solid and hollow versions. Many times the hollow versions are filled with assorted Easter candy. In our shop, we have created a milk chocolate hollow egg and filled it with assorted Easter candies.

With the arrival of chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs of many varieties, know that Easter and spring are not far behind!

Giving back…and having fun doing it!

When we think about Easter, we think bunnies, kids and, of course, chocolate. Each year at The Happy Chocolatier we try to do something fun for the kids prior to Easter. This year, in keeping with our mission to support our local community, we have decided to host a kids event that will support Household Goods (formerly HGRM), a fantastic organization located here in Acton. The event will take place on Saturday, March 21 from 12-3 pm.

We think of it as a “mini service project.” Kids can decorate a spring-themed candy coated rice crispy treat, watch us make chocolates, and sample some of our chocolates. In return, they (or mom and dad) will make a donation to help Household Goods help those most in need. So, the kids get a treat (or two) and help others in return. You can find all the details here.

A representative of Household Goods will be on-site to share news about their mission. Household Goods is not-for-profit organization that provides household goods, free of charge, to people in need. They accept donations of gently used household items that help people make a home. As an organization staffed by volunteers, they depend on the generosity of community members for goods, time and financial support. So our donation drive will be greatly appreciated and put to very good use.

The best part of all: it shows kids how giving back can be fun! And think of the happiness your contribution will bring to someone in need.

Chocolate and Easter…a Tradition

This time of year chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs arrive in shops announcing the coming of Easter and (hopefully) spring. But why?

Chocolate Easter Bunnies

In pre-Christian pagan times, spring was celebrated by giving thanks to the ancient goddess of fertility Eostre—from which “Easter” derived its name. Since the rabbit was recognized as a symbol of fertility and new life, it became associated with the rituals of Easter and spring.

According to the National Confectioner’s Association, Whitman’s Chocolates was one of the first American manufacturers to produce chocolate bunnies in 1842, but the popularity of the bunny mold didn’t pick up speed until the turn of the 20th century. In 1916, Bortz chocolate factory began mass-producing the creamy confection, and over the decades many chocolate makers began making their own version of the chocolate bunny. Today, ninety million chocolate bunnies are produced each year.

Many small chocolate shops like The Happy Chocolatier still make bunnies by hand. With the evolution of the chocolate bunny one will find many varieties to choose from – chocolate bunnies filled with everything from cookie pieces and rice crispies to peanut butter and caramel. However, the plain milk chocolate bunny remains the most popular version.

The method of biting into a chocolate bunny has become a tradition in itself. More than 75 percent of Americans go for the ears first. Regardless of how you plan your first bite, one thing is for certain: Easter bunnies have become one of the sweetest parts of the springtime season.

Chocolate Easter Eggs

Eggs have been associated with the Christian festival of Easter, which celebrates the death and resurrection of Christ, since the early days of the church. However, Christian customs connected with Easter eggs are to some extent adaptations of ancient pagan practices related to spring rites.

The earliest Easter eggs were hen or duck eggs decorated at home in bright colors with vegetable dye and charcoal. Orthodox Christians and many cultures continue to dye Easter eggs, often decorating them with flowers. The Victorians had cardboard, ‘plush’ and satin covered eggs filled with Easter gifts and chocolates.

Chocolate Easter eggs were first made in Europe in the early 19th century, with France and Germany taking the lead in this new confection. Some early eggs were solid, as the technique for mass producing molded chocolate had not been devised. The production of the first hollow chocolate eggs was painstaking, as the molds were lined with paste chocolate one at a time. Well this handmade tradition still exists in smaller chocolate shops like The Happy Chocolatier.

Chocolate eggs are produced in milk, white and dark chocolate and available in solid and hollow versions. Many times the hollow versions are filled with assorted Easter candy. At The Happy Chocolatier, we have created a milk chocolate hollow egg and filled it with assorted Easter candies. Eggs also come filled with caramel, peanut butter and chocolate truffle.

With the arrival of chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs of many varieties, know that Easter and spring are not far behind!

The True Meaning of the Easter & Passover Season

With the help of my wonderful team at The Happy Chocolatier, we are heading into the busy Easter chocolate rush. I would be remiss if I didn’t publicly thank my entire team for their hard work and willingness to learn many new things as we prepared for the Easter season. Without them there wouldn’t be a Happy Chocolatier.

While we are busy helping customers find chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and build Easter baskets, I pause to think about the importance of the Easter season. Though the chocolates and candies pay the bills, Easter is about so much more. Passover is, as well. Whether one is religious or not, Easter and Passover herald the coming of spring. For those who celebrate Easter and Passover their significance is great: hope, re-birth and deliverance. It is a time of celebration, thanksgiving and prayer for many. The chocolates and candy are merely a small contribution to the celebration.

I’ll leave you with one fun factoid – pretzels were originally associated with Easter because the twists of the pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossed in prayer. So as we finish up our Easter chocolate season, I keep my eye on the chocolate-coated pretzels as a reminder of what the season is really about.

Fun Facts About Easter Treats!

A variety of Easter baskets are available at The Happy Chocolatier

As we finalize our preparations for Easter at The Happy Chocolatier – creating many different types of Easter baskets, dipping chocolate Easter treats, bagging jelly beans and stocking the shelves with a variety of chocolate bunnies – I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite Easter candy factoids:

– About 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced every year
– Milk chocolate Easter bunnies are clearly the preference over dark…65% and 27%, respectively
– Americans consume about 16 million jelly beans at Easter
– Jelly beans were first made here in Boston by William Schrafft
– 70% of kids prefer to eat jelly beans one at a time
– Kids prefer cherry, strawberry and grape fruit flavors of jelly beans

Facts courtesy of the National Confectioners Association