Tips for prepping Easter eggs

 Dying Easter eggs – perhaps second only to eating lots of Easter chocolate – is one of the most fun parts of the holiday. It’s something that the family can do together, or a fun art project for kids. Typically, you need to start with hard boiled eggs when dying. Raw eggs can be used, but they’re a bit more fragile than hard-boiled eggs and they definitely make a much bigger mess if you (or a sugar-charged child) drop them onto the floor. If I am going to make hard boiled eggs, I always use Elise’s technique to get them done perfectly every time.

But had boiled is not my top choice for egg decorating. I prefer to use hollowed out egg shells, blowing the yolk and white out of the raw egg. The shells are surprisingly solid and more resilient than hard cooked or raw eggs when it comes to cracking – plus, they keep indefinitely, so if you end up making some gorgeous eggs, you can keep them around until next year.

My method for blowing out the eggs was taught to me by my grandfather. Poke a small hole in the top of an egg with a thick needle, a larger hole in the bottom and blow into the smaller hole until the egg is empty. An easier method is to use a gadget like the Blas-fix Egg Blower, which blows the egg innards out for you. Either way, you get perfect, long-lasting eggs to dye as you wish.