Chocolate Easter Bunny

Chocolate Easter Bunny

How Did Chocolate Easter Bunnies Come About?
By Jeanette Hauser

No child's Easter basket is complete without one or two chocolate Easter bunnies. For that matter, now that we are becoming aware of the health benefits of chocolate, these little guys make great gourmet chocolate gift for adults, too. But have you ever wondered how Easter got mixed up with a rabbit?

No one really knows for sure, but like many holiday traditions, it probably started out in Europe. As you may know, rabbits are well known for their enthusiastic breeding habits, making them a common symbol of fertility. Each year, we can view Mother Nature and remember that spring is part of the earths' rebirth and renewal. Somewhere along the way, the prolific little bunny became associated with the prolific springtime display of brightly-colored flowers, blooming bulbs, and green leaves on our trees.

It is also interesting to note that the name Easter was derived Eostre, the Goddess of Fertility. This explains the how eggs, a long-standing symbol of fertility, became associated with Easter. Perhaps the reputation of the rabbits high-energy mating schedule may have started as an Easter joke; however, the association has become cemented in our holiday tradition. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, the Germans were creating rabbit-shaped pastries and cakes. The world-wide love affair with chocolate quickly moved the long ears off the cake and onto a chocolate Easter bunny body.

These days, over 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made each Easter. Whether to eat the ears first, or the tail or the feet, is a hotly debated topic at Easter dinner tables around the world. Chocolate bunnies have evolved into creations that are milk, dark or white chocolate. They may be filled with gourmet nuts, brandy, or other candies. Some chocolatiers use unusual flavorings to make their bunnies an exotic adult treat. For example, Vosges Chocolate makes chocolate Easter treats in flavors that include chocolate bacon or white chocolate laced with lemon zest and pink peppercorns.

Chocolate Easter Bunny