Easter is upon us!  My children love to dye Easter Eggs, I enjoy it too.  We often dye too many Easter Eggs, we end up eating egg salad sandwiches the entire Easter week.  I find coloring and dying eggs very therapeutic.  

 Over the years we have dyed eggs a number of different styles and ways.  We have purchased the dye kits, we have used Kool-Aid Packets, used crayons and have a lot of fun making the characters that my children are into at the time.  We have made Ninja Turtle Easter Eggs, Angry Bird Eggs, and so many others.

Last year a friend told me about making hard boiled eggs in the oven instead of boiling them.  I tried it and they turned out great.  I think this is a great idea, especially if you need to make a lot of hard boiled eggs.  You can fill two oven racks using your muffin/cupcake pan and in 30 minutes have 48 hard boiled eggs.  Instead of multiple pots of boiling water on the stove top, or if you needed to make a lot you could use both methods at once and have a record number of hard boiled eggs quickly.

When you bake the eggs in the oven they will have brown spots when they come out, once you place the eggs in an ice bath or bowl of cold water, the spots will come off.  

Directions for Baking Hard Boiled Eggs:
Preheat oven to 325-350 degrees. (I used 325 and they were perfect)
Place one egg in each muffin cup.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes
Place eggs in ice bath. I just ran cold water from the sink over them, covered with water let sit for about 10 minutes before peeling to test before I dyed them.

Boiling Hard Boiled Eggs:
Place eggs in a pot in a single layer, cover with water, heat on high till boiling.  Turn off burner once boiling, cover pot with lid and let eggs sit for 13-15 minutes.  Place under cold running water or place in an ice bath.  

Tips for Dyeing Easter Eggs with Kids:
  • Use a disposable table cloth for easy clean-up.
  • If you have nice weather, go outdoors and dye eggs.
  • For younger children, use a whisk or pasta serving spoon to handle the eggs.
  • Timing is everything, plan when they are well rested, and you are not in a hurry.
  • Think outside the box, you can use stickers, googly eyes, scrap paper, scrap fabric, tape to create a pattern, paint, rubber bands to create stripes, your glue gun for older children.  
  • Use a baking drying rack  to let your eggs dry.  Put paper towels or newspaper underneath the rack for easy clean-up.
  • Use egg carton to store dyed eggs in the refrigerator for up to one week.
  • Have fun!  They don't have to be picture perfect, it's just about spending time together and enjoying the moment.
Methods to Dye Easter Eggs:
Egg Dyeing Kits:
You can find kits in a range of prices starting as low as $1.50 and up. We have used glitter kits, marble dye kits, character kits and many more.  Follow the directions on the package.    
Kool-Aid Dyed Eggs:
If you have not used Kool-Aid to dye Easter eggs, I highly recommend it, this is my favorite method.  You do not need vinegar, and the eggs and table will smell delicious.  My kids kept smelling the Kool-Aid dyed eggs, lol.  

For the Kool-Aid method, I used one packet of Kool-Aid mixed with 1 cup of water. I had the eggs soak in the mixture for only 5 minutes and the colors turned out great. 


Food Coloring Method:
Using food coloring drops are easy to do as well.  I used 20 drops of McCormick food coloring for the dark colors pictured below.  Used 1 cup of water and 1 Tablespoon of White Vinegar with the 20 drops of food coloring and had the eggs soak in the mixture for 5 minutes.  

Ombre Easter Eggs:
Want to make get that Ombre style egg with gradients of color?
Use a soda bottle cap to help hold your egg in the glass.
Then mix your color mixture with a little water, not the full amount, pour in a little water at a time, let egg sit for 5 minutes, add more water for next level wait 3 minutes, add more water wait 2 minutes, add more water just for a few seconds.

You can also use food to dye eggs like onion peels, beets, turmeric.  I have not personally used this method, When I read about this method you need to soak the eggs for 2 hours to overnight.  With little kids, they want to see their efforts right away so I will wait to use this method when my children are older.  Here is a great site with directions if you want to try this method check out Mommypotamus click here: Dyeing Eggs Naturally.

 I think it would be a great idea to have a girls night and decorate eggs, eat and watch a movie.  Use metallic sharpies and make beautifully decorated eggs.  

Need more Easter Egg Inspiration check out A Night Owl's 100 Easter Egg Ideas, for a variety of egg recipes, decor and craft ideas.

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