Product Description

Celebrate Spring Fever in style with the festive recipes and craft ideas in Easter Treats. From sweet Chicken Little Cookie Pops to a full-fledged Easter Bunny Cake and kid-sized Bunny Ears, families will find an array of tanta-lizing confections and simple craft projects that revel in the Easter spirit. Elegant menus offer options for entertaining, and craft projects will have the kids dyeing and decorating eggs, sprucing up their baskets, and creating decorations for the table, the front porch, and themselves. Easter Treats will have the whole family joining in the holiday fun.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #608836 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Amazon.com
Look no further for entertaining Easter ideas! From tasty recipes for a gourmet dinner to silly and simple crafts with the kids, you'll find the variety in Easter Treats most pleasing. Each recipe includes a lovely color photo of the finished project, as well as an ingredients list and, where appropriate, illustrated steps or traceable stencils. Party-favor ideas range from sturdy paper candy cones to simple jellybean bags, while more kid-friendly ideas include adorable bunny finger puppets and fuzzy pom-pom chicks.

Mouthwatering recipes include Red Potato Strudel, classic Hot Cross Buns, Grilled Asparagus Risotto, and for a hilarious centerpiece, a 3-D Easter Bunny Cake, complete with marshmallow cheeks and floppy fondant ears. Variations on the classic Easter egg are gorgeous--decorative touches include ribbons, origami paper, and intense colors made from paste food colorings--the deep-blue eggs with glittery stars are simply beautiful, and quite different from the traditional springtime palette. While no craft is extremely difficult, beginners should be sure to freely make use of the hints included for how to make projects "child-friendly"--this also translates to "novice-adult friendly." Author Jill O'Connor emphasizes fun over artistic perfection and she makes it easy to enjoy yourself, with thorough instructions, fresh ideas, and an easygoing presentation. --Jill Lightner

About the Author
Jill O'Connor was formerly the pastry chef at the Golden Door Fitness Spa. Many of her original dessert recipes have been featured in Bon Appetit, Chocolatier, and House Beautiful magazines. She is also the author of Sweet Nothings, published by Chronicle Books.

Customer Reviews

Crafts and Recipes for Most of the Family...
Ok...this is a 96 page book concentrating on Easter (crafts and recipes). I had high hopes for it, based on the wonderful valentine volume in the same series (also available, Summer Time Treats, Halloween Treats, and Christmas Treats). I love the layout and format of the book...it's a soft cover book that is easy to handle. I do have concerns about the long term sturdiness of the book when actually doing the crafts and making the recipes...I don't know that the binding will hold up over the "long haul." I do like the overall cover design and layout -- very nice and visually appealing!

In the introduction, the author says:

"Easter is one of the most joyous holidays in Christianity, celebrates the resurrection of Christ. The Easter season is also a time when we honor the unity of our family and friends, welcome spring,,and revel in the awakening beauty of nature after the long days of winter."

Now, obviously, since I'm reviewing this volume from a Wiccan/Pagan perspective...I simply cannot "get behind" the first part of this...but I can whole heartedly embrace the latter part!! I did enjoy the very brief blurb in the introduction about the Germanic origins of Easter Eggs...but would like to have seen a more original suggestion than an Easter Egg Decorating Party for the "ideal" holiday get together!

You will also find standard tips for Boiling blowing, and dyeing your eggs.

As a book of "Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family," I find this somewhat lacking in the "whole family" area!! Perhaps if your family consists of you and your husband or you and an older child or two, this might apply -- but for people like me (kids ages 3 and 5)...who are looking for a mix of elegant adult crafts and and fun and/or easy kids crafts...this books leaves me wanting. Certainly not in the adult crafting area -- there are a plethora to be had in this area -- but in easy, fun kids projects, there is MUCH to be desired!!

Page 18 has a cute Easter Egg Tree idea, but the ribbon eggs (which are stunningly beautiful) are WAY too complex for small children -- older children or teens looking for a bit of elegance might enjoy this seemingly time consuming project...


As with the Ribbon Eggs, the Washi Eggs (pg 22) and Candy Cones (pg 29) do not seem like kid friendly project either...they ARE beautiful, but definitely an adult project!

The Easy Easter Daisies (pg 25) and brilliant yellow dyed eggs would look STUNNING on an altar, there is just something about them that says SPRING...and with a bit of adjustment on the size of the daisy pattern, could easily be done by younger children!!

The Starry Sky Eggs (26), Jelly Bean Bags (32) and Marzipan Play Dough (Also pg 32) would all be well received by kids of all ages...and easy enough for them to enjoy doing...small kids will need help tying the bags on the jelly beans (be sure to have extra beans, snacking is inevitable with this project -- and half the fun...lol). There are also several projects (like bunny ears and finger puppets for younger children...but my kids already do this stuff at school and I was hoping for a few NEW ideas to do with them!!

The secret message eggs are a very cute and fun idea -- kids (with parents help) should delightin making and then smashing them (or helping the recipient to smash) to get at the message -- this craft also has possible applications for magickal workings -- I know you magickal crafters out there have your motors running already!!!

All the recipes (with the exception of the "chicken feed," pg 26) are adult caliber -- I would not attempt any of these -- well, perhaps the Easter Bonnet Shortbread ones (72)...but they would NOT look as elegant and refined as the ones pictured in the book...kids LOVE to decorate cookies...so this one is a definite kid friendly food project!!

So...overall I give this book:

B- for Content -- rated as a book for the "whole family," I find that it's lacking in easier recipes and crafts for kids younger than 8 or 10, but RICH in ideas for the adult crafter and certainly plenty that the adult Wiccan looking to spruce up that spring altar!! Not much I found here in the way of magickal application (beyond altar decoration...and the possibilities for spell work with the Secret Message Eggs). I would recommend it but not as a "main" source for your magickal library...

B+ for Price -- same as the Valentines for size and content...I'd really expect to see a price of 9.95 or slightly less -- with a 14.95 list price and about a 12.00 price tag on Amazon...its' a tad higher than I'd expect or like to see!

Cannot wait 'til I can afford to get the other three in this series, despite my dislikes about this volume, overall I think it's a good buy... and frankly I'm hooked and must have the rest!! Look for my reveiws of them when I can afford to buy them!!

Hoppy Easter Treats
Well, it all started with the Halloween Treats book and now I'm hooked. This certain book has many yummy recipes for dinners, drinks, sweets, and even a cute bunny cake. There are also adorable and easy to do crafts for the kids, such as making a little chick and cute bunny finger puppets and you can't forget the dying of the eggs. The instructions are extremely easy to read and follow and the colorful photos of many of the projects are very helpful. I highly recommend this book, as well as the others 'treats' books. You won't be disappointed.

Easter Treats recipes and crafts for the whole family
This is my fourth cookbook by Mrs. O'Connor. This one has craft ideas for the whole family to enjoy. Mrs. O'Connor writes in plain English with easy to understand recipes that help you get your children involved in the kitchen. There is a wide variety of dishes in this book. It's great. I hope she keeps them coming.