Friday, April 4, 2014

Easter Baskets from Yester Year


When I was small, there were certain candies that the Easter Bunny put in my Easter basket.  Many of those candies are not readily available today, or are no longer in favor.  But every time that I see them, they transport me back to my youth!

I didn't live in the era when these containers were in vogue, but I do love and admire (and collect) them.









I actually used  a basket, but I also hid "nests" of shredded grass under chairs and behind the sofa for my surprises.  I always received something to wear to church on Easter Sunday.  It may have been a pair of lacy socks or gloves, but there were lots of colorful candies, too!  The candy company of choice in the midwest was Brach's.


 There were Brach's jelly beans and marshmallow eggs.



I wasn't as fond of the hard shiny coated marshmallow eggs, because they were to large for my mouth and hard for a little girl to chew, but they were very colorful! (I also remember my father helping me eat them!)



There were also "Circus Peanut" bunnies in yellow, pink, white and lavender.




There were creme bunnies and chicks in pastel colors (that my mother was particularly fond of) and there may have been Easter pastel candy corn, too....but the bunnies and chicks tasted like candy corn, so that is what I may be remembering.



There was also always an exquisite chocolate rabbit in the middle of the riot of color!


 I also have always been a big fan of peeps!  Over the years they replaced the sugary mixture in my Easter basket.



Most of my friends know that I have loved Peeps, but what they don't know is that there is a favorite Easter candy that has replaced my love of Peeps.  It is the dark chocolate covered marshmallow eggs in their own egg cartons!  

Somehow marshmallow became a really seasonal candy for spring. Maybe the light, fluffy airiness is meant to remind us of spring-time clouds.

 Melster is one brand....



  Zachary Candy Co. is another: 



And Necco is the third:


I love their dark chocolate-ly goodness!  (They contain chocolate liqueur. )



Don't ever give me the chocolate covered Brach's eggs in a carton.  They are milk chocolate and so sweet, they will end up in the waste basket!

I also received one of these scenic eggs every year.  Usually before Easter and not in my basket.  I think my mother enjoyed letting me pick one out while shopping for my annual Easter outfit.



My children also enjoyed another kind of candy container. The chicken who dispensed jelly beans from his bottom!  (They loved pushing him and releasing the eggs or gum balls, but they never enjoyed the fruit of his labors!)


If I were to make up Easter treats for my grandchildren or friends today, they would look something like this.  The container would be a reproduction German paper egg.



I would fill it like the creative folks at Williams Sonoma did.


Check out vintage candy companies at :

Happy Chomping!!!!!

Most images are courtesy of Yahoo search.

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