Who doesn’t love a surprise? Certainly, this Easter cupcake counts as one: In addition to an alluring Peeps chick on top, these cupcakes from Betty Crocker have a surprise in the middle—other Easter candies.

 
RECIPE: PEEPS CUPCAKES WITH HIDDEN SURPRISE

Ingredients For 24 Cupcakes

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.

2. MAKE the cake batter as directed on box. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about two-thirds full). Bake as directed on box for cupcakes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

3. SCOOP out the center of each cupcake, about 1 inch deep, using melon baller. Fill each with 1 heaping teaspoonful candies.

4. SPOON the frosting into a medium bowl; stir in enough food color until you have your desired green color. Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with colored sugar. Top with a Peeps chick. Store loosely covered.

Peeps Easter cupcakes with a hidden surprise. Photos courtesy Betty Crocker.

Top: The original Peeps were made in yellow and white. Today there’s a rainbow of colors (photo courtesy Pioneer Press). Bottom: This Peeps Easter Bunny Cake recipe is from FoodySchmoodyBlog.com.

In 1920, confectioner Sam Born opened a small candy store in Brooklyn, New York, selling fresh confections made daily. In 1953, he introduced Peeps marshmallow chicks in yellow and white.

It used to take 27 hours to make a single Peep: Each one was hand-squeezed from a pastry tube. Now it takes six minutes on a mechanized line. Sam Born’s son, Bob, mechanized production in 1954 with a special machine still used today. The business, the Just Born Company, is still family owned.

An average 5.5 million Peeps are made every day. That’s 2 billion Peeps a year, enough to circle the Earth three times.

Peeps bunnies were added in 1973. The chicks way outsell the bunnies: 4 of every 5 Peeps purchased are chicks. But chick or bunny, Peeps are the number-one selling non-chocolate Easter candy.

Beyond Original Marshmallow Peeps, there are now flavored Peeps (Blueberry Delight, Candy Cane, Candy Corn Dipped Peeps, Cherry Cordial, Chocolate Mousse, Fruit Punch, Lime Delight, Mystery Flavor, Orange Delight, Raspberry Delight, Strawberry Creme, Sugar Plum, Vanilla), as well as Original in blue, green, lavender, orange and pink colors.

There are chocolate-dipped Peeps, Peeps atop sugar cookies, Sugar-Free Peeps, Peeps Marshmallow Eggs, Peeps Lollipops, gift sets and wearables (headbands, slippers, socks, etc.), all sold at Peeps & Company retail stores and online.

And there’s more: Peeps Snowmen, Peeps Jack o’Lanterns, Peeps Witch Chicks, Green Marshmallow Christmas Trees and Chocolate Mint Christmas Trees.

Google “Peeps recipes” and you’ll find Peeps fondue, Peeps sushi, Peeps pizza, Peepsicles, even Peeps pots de crème.

Just Born also makes Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews, Hot Tamales, Mike & Ike and Teenee Beanee jelly beans.

We really miss our mother’s baked potatoes. Mom was a potato fan and made a simple preparation every night, rotating among baked, boiled with parsley butter, French fried and mashed (for Sunday brunch, hash browns; for special occasions, potato pancakes).

Among this group, what we no longer come across—or make at home—is her baked potato with a super-crisp skin. We liked the outside as much as the inside. But in the interest of time, we’ve been baking our potatoes in the microwave. They’re O.K., but not memorable. In fact, they steam rather than bake, impacting the texture. This also happens when you wrap a potato in foil before baking.

So yesterday we turned on the oven and made baked potatoes with Mom’s favorite toppings: butter and sour cream topped with fresh-ground black pepper and minced fresh chives.
 
 
RECIPE: BAKED POTATO WITH A CRISP SKIN

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. Rinse the potatoes under running water and pat dry. Pierce each potato 5 times with the tines of a fork.

2. RUB the potatoes with oil, sprinkle with salt and a bit of pepper, and place on a baking sheet/in a baking pan;

3. BAKE for 45 minutes and test for doneness: a cake tester should go in without resistance. If you want even crisper skin, raise the oven to 400°F for the last 15 minutes,

4. REMOVE from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting a vent across the top.

5. SERVE with a variety of toppings.
 
 
BAKED POTATO TOPPINGS

One of our favorite party foods is a baked potato bar with lots of different toppings:

[2] Different baked potato toppings. Can you choose just one?

 
Or, try these recipes:

 
 
MORE BASKED POTATO IDEAS

 
 
CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF POTATOES & THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POTATOES

Sufficient water supply and sanitation has been one of man’s primary challenges since the dawn of civilization. Lack of good sanitation systems polluted water supplies, engendering disease and epidemics.

In the early 19th century, governments in developed countries began to implement ways to assure a safe water supply for drinking and, modern sanitation systems to contain disease. But a third of the world’s population still, in undeveloped countries, still lives under ancient, dangerous conditions.

March 22nd is World Water Day, which acknowledges this water crisis.

Even where there is sufficient river and lake water, it often carries harmful organisms that engender disease and death. (The same was true in Europe and elsewhere before the advent of monitored municipal water systems.)

When you live in a country with excellent tap water and sanitation, it’s eye opening to realize that:

 
If you want to help, head to Action Against Hunger, which has clean water and sanitation initiatives in some of the most remote places of the world.

 
Any contribution helps.
 
Donate by midnight today and your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by Pur Water Filtration Systems. Thanks!
  

Today, America’s cheese makers are turning out their own burrata: just as creamy, milky and delicious as the imports. You don’t have to hunt for it, either: It’s at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Markets!

Cheesemakers from coast to coast are delivering their burrata to stores and restaurants. Burrata is made by (among others) Belfiore, DiStefano and Gioia in California; Maplebrook Farm in Vermont; Lioni Latticini in Brooklyn; and the retailer DiBruno Bros. in Philadelphia. In the middle of the country is Belgioioso Cheese of Wisconsin, possibly the largest domestic producer of burrata.

It is also made by restaurant chefs. One has provided the recipe below.

One of the more popular ways to enjoy burrata is in the center of a green salad, with crusty garlic toast. We can eat the whole burrata on salad for lunch.

Keep scrolling for a burrata dessert pairing, and a recipe to make your own burrata cheese!
 
 
RECIPE: SPRING BURRATA SALAD

This Burrata Salad from Good Eggs in San Francisco is oh-so-delicious. It takes just 5 minutes active time, 10 minutes total time.

Ingredients For 1-2 Servings

[2] Spring salad at Good Eggs (photo © Good Eggs).

1. DRAIN the burrata in a colander lined with a paper towel—you don’t want to pierce the skin of the burrata, but you do want any extra whey (the watery stuff) to drain off. While it drains…

2. TOAST the sourdough bread until golden brown. Rub the finished toasts with a halved garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil.

3. FILL a bowl with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Add the herbs, radish and greens and toss with the dressing.

4. SLICE or tear the burrata into large chunks over the top of the greens. Serve with the garlic toast and a peppermill for freshly-ground black pepper.
 
Springtime Variations

Add or substitute other spring produce:

 
We love the combined flavors of tomato and burrata. When vine-ripened tomatoes aren’t in season, use cherry or grape tomatoes, sundries tomatoes or roasted red pepper (pimento).

Lovers of Caprese Salad can add some fresh basil.

[4] Peaches with burrata, honey and pistachio nuts from Eat Wisconsin Cheese. Here’s the recipe.

BURRATA FOR DESSERT

You can also serve burrata for the cheese course or for dessert. Add spring fruits: blackberries, black mission figs, lychees and strawberries.

Drizzle with honey and garnish with pistachios or other favorite nut(s). It’s so elegant, yet so easy to prepare.

May we suggest including a glass of dessert wine? They often have peachy, honey notes that are a perfect pairing.
 
 
WHAT IS BURRATA?

Burrata is a “filled” mozzarella, a specialty of the Apulia region of Italy, the “heel of the boot.” The word means “buttery” in Italian. It is now being made by American cheese-makers as well.

A hollow ball of buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) is filled with panna, cream that contains scraps of mozzarella left over from mozzarella-making. It seems like very fine-grained ricotta.

Cut into the ball and the cream oozes out. While both buttery and creamy, it is not overly rich; just overly delicious.

Burrata imported from Italy is traditionally wrapped in a green leaf, the fronds of an Italian plant called asphodel, in the lily family.

The leaves are an indicator of freshness: As long as the leaves are still fresh and green, the cheese within is still fresh. Dried-out leaves mean a cheese is past its prime.

Because it travels, the cheese also wrapped in a clear plastic bag to catch the natural liquid that drains from it.

Here’s more about burrata cheese and the history of burrata.

If you can find mozzarella curd, you can make your own. This recipe is from Chef Todd Andrews of restaurant Anella.
 
Ingredients For An 8-Ounce Ball

 
Preparation

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s one of several burrata videos on YouTube.

1, CUT the mozzarella curd in half, setting one half aside. Grate the other half with a cheese grater into a bowl and mix well with the cream until smooth, creamy and completely incorporated. Season to taste with salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Place the filling in the fridge until ready to use.

2. HEAT a pot of water to a boil. When the water boils, turn the heat off and wait five minutes. When water is just cool enough to be able to touch with your bare hands, drop the remaining half of mozzarella curd into the water. Remove with tongs after about five minutes, and press flat against one hand with the other hand.

3. TAKE the mozzarella in both hands and stretch it across one hand until even. With an ice cream scoop, scoop a heaping amount of the filling into the center of the cheese. Stretch the cheese around the filling, pulling it toward the center of the filling until completely stuffed. It’s ready to serve!

4. SERVE with extra virgin olive oil and fresh pepper.

Like carrot cake? Like banana cake? This recipe from Melissa’s combines both in one yummy recipe. While carrots and bananas are available year-round, this recipe says “spring” to us.

The cake can be prepared 1 day ahead, covered with a cake dome and refrigerated.

RECIPE: CARROT-BANANA CAKE

Ingredients
 
For The Cake

 
For The Frosting

Top: Carrot-Banana Cake from Melissas.com. Bottom: Pecans are smoother than walnuts (no “bite”), but you can use walnuts if you prefer. Photo courtesy Blog.Etsy.com.

1. MAKE the cake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan.

2. SIFT the first 4 ingredients into a medium bowl. Whisk the oil, table sugar, brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the carrots, pineapple, banana and pecans and blend well. Transfer batter the to the pan.

3. BAKE until a tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let the cake stand in pan 10 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack and cool.

4. MAKE the frosting. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and cinnamon in medium bowl until smooth. Spread the frosting over cake. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon.