[1] The Easter Bunny, fitted with a mask to prevent Covid (photo © Lillie Belle Farms).

Even the Easter Bunny is taking precautions in these risky times.

The chocolatiers at Lillie Belle Farms have been turning out a colony* of chocolate bunnies wearing protective masks.

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate bunnies are waiting for you, while supplies last.

Head to Lillie Belle Farms

All of the other chocolates are terrific, too. Our favorites:

We can always rely on DiBruno Bros. in Philadelphia for the best specialty foods—and creative ways to use them.

For Easter, they’ve used Easter egg cookie cutters (photo #2) to create an Easter cheese plate (photo #1).

The semi-hard cheese group includes young Asiago, Cheddar, Colby, Edam, Fontinella, Gouda, Manchego, Provolone (photo #1) and Queso Blanco, among others.

Semi-hard cheese is a classification of cheese based upon body. The terms semi-hard and hard refer mainly to moisture content, not to texture.

Because these cheeses contain less moisture than the soft and soft-ripened types, they hold their shape much better—good to cut with cookie cutters.

A cheese can start as semi-soft, then move to semi-hard via aging, which evaporates the moisture.
 
 
HOW TO MAKE CHEESE EASTER EGGS

1. PICK your cheeses. While DiBruno Bros. used only provolone, try at least two different colors: provolone and cheddar, for example.

2. PICK your toppings. You can use anything you have around, but here are some ideas. Use as much color as you can; e.g., green pimento olives instead of black olives, and sultanas (golden raisins) instead of dark purple raisins.

 
Plus:

 
You can also add colorful fruit to the plate: berries, dried apricots, orange/mandarin segments, red grapes, etc.

3. CUT and decorate the cheese shapes.

4. SERVE as a first course, with a salad course, or after the main course, before dessert.

[1] Easter egg cheese plate, created by DiBruno Bros from provolone (photo © DiBruno Bros).

[2] Easter egg cookie cutter set on Amazon (photo © Ann Clark Cookie Cutters).

[3] The easy cheese platter: Surround rounds and wedges of cheese with Easter candy (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

Put your favorite cheeses on a board and surround them with Easter candy (photo #3). This works best when cheese is served after the main course.

Bite-size, foil-wrapped Easter eggs are best because chocolate is a good pairing with cheese.
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEESE IN OUR CHEESE GLOSSARY <

[1] Blueberries and lemon curd are a delicious combination Here’s the recipe from Baking A Moment. Substitute ice cream, pudding or mousse for the yogurt (photo © Baking A Moment).

[2] It looks like the Easter Bunny made this parfait. Here’s the recipe from Sugar Spice And Family Life. Substitute ice cream, pudding or mousse for the yogurt (photo © Sugar Spice And Family Life).

[3] Use any glass vessel you have. We use our champagne flutes (photo © Davio’s | Boston).

[4] These Cookies & Cream Parfaits With Chocolate Cream And Bailey’s Irish, for any occasion, are irresistable. Here’s the recipe (photo © Homemade Hooplah).

If you’re sheltering in place for Easter—and most of us certainly are—here’s a dessert that is both festive and easy: a no-bake parfait.

Originally (and still) made with ice cream, yogurt* parfaits were adapted as yogurt† became a popular food in 1977†.

For dessert, there are chocolate parfaits, butterscotch and caramel parfaits, parfaits with most kinds of fruit and fruit sauces. But for Easter, bright colors complement the season.

June 25th is National Strawberry Parfait Day.

The History Of The Parfait.
 
 
HOW TO CONSTRUCT YOUR DESSERT PARFAIT

WANT A LAYER OF CAKE?

The yogurt parfaits don’t use crumbled cookies or cake as a bottom layer, but it’s a good addition to a dessert parfait. If you want to add a cake or cookie layer(s) but don’t have any cake or brownies at home, substitute:

 
DESSERT PARFAIT LAYERS & GARNISHES

Start with ice cream and/or sorbet layers of choice. You can also use mousse or pudding.

For the other layers, see what you have on hand—especially in bright Easter colors:

 
Some non-colorful options for another occasion:

 
Any combination is delicious.
 
FOR ADULTS: LIQUEUR

Add a hint of liqueur to:

 
BREAKFAST & BRUNCH GARNISHES

Any combination of fresh fruit, sliced or diced, works. Use two different flavors of yogurt for added flavors and colors.

For additional layers and garnishes, try:

 
Bon appetit!
 
 
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*Yogurt, a staple in Greek, Turkish and other Mediterranean cuisines, was made in those local communities and had low awareness among the general population.

†While yogurt is an ancient food and had been available in the U.S. since the early 1900s, it was seen as a health food, available in health food stores, a century before healthy eating was adapted by consumers nationwide.

Yogurt became a popular food as a result of Dannon’s famous “Georgians Over 100” advertising campaign (source).