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Easter– Alternative Ideas to Dyeing Eggs

I first became vegan around Eastertime. (I gave up dairy products for Lent that year) As someone who enjoys being creative, I very much missed the tradition of dyeing Easter eggs. Therefore, when Easter came around the next year, I was determined to find a way in which I, too, could partake in the Easter festivities.

For those of you who miss Easter egg-dyeing like I did, or if you just want to have some extra fun this year, here’s a list of some great Easter activities that are cruelty-free:

Alternatives to Dyeing Eggs:

  • Make sugar cookies, such as my Healthy Sugar Cookies, and decorate them instead of decorating eggs. Sugar cookies taste better than eggs anyway!
  • Make Easter greeting cards, and bring them to a local nursing home. I’ve done this for two years in a row now, and the residents really appreciate it.
  • Bake and decorate a cake—or cupcakes.
  • Use plastic “eggs” and create a scavenger hunt for a little kid, putting clues in the eggs. Or, persuade someone to make a scavenger hunt for you!
  • Hide plastic eggs around the house (or, if you don’t like the symbolism of eggs, use something else—I found plastic carrots this year!). Set up a contest for children to see who can find the most “eggs”. Or, have someone else hide the eggs, so you can participate in the contest. The best part about this idea? If an “egg” is never found and the “hider” forgets where it was hidden, it won’t rot and release a foul odor days later! (And you won’t have to worry that it’ll be found by a household member of the canine variety.)

katie easter

 

And the best alternative?

Make these: Copycat Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs.

You won’t be sorry! 😉

 

Published on March 21, 2008

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Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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43 Comments

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  1. Rach-ums says

    Cool ideas! I was worried I’d feel left out this year but I’m positive my family would much rather decorate cookies than eggs anyways.

  2. Romina says

    These are fantastic ideas! I never liked painting eggs growing up… I hated eating eggs, touching eggs, just being around eggs was something I hated.

    Sugar cookies!!! Ahhh… Yummy.

    And that cake is SO cute! How did you get so talented?

  3. Happy Herbivore! says

    LINDSAY LOVES KATIE. Lindsay Loves Katies always beautiful, colorful and cute sugar friends. Lindsay really loves that Katie loves her meatloaf… (I think youre an addict, thats okay, mee too!)

    We don’t celebrate Easter but I always love a reason to play with marzapan… so….

  4. Rach-ums says

    The vegan white chocolate chips are pretty good, but sadly not as good as the “original”. They are sweeter and not quite as creamy tasting, but I had a craving and they definitely satisfied that! In the future I might take a stab at making homemade white chocolate though.

  5. Simple and Divine says

    I totally second Vegan Addict…I’m in philadelphia and WILL pay 🙂 I totally empathize with your loving to decorate cookies! It’s SO satisfying, especially when you get to eat them 🙂 LOVE these beauties!

  6. Bianca says

    Great ideas! I do miss dying eggs. And strangely, I never thought about decorating egg-shaped cookies. I may not have time to do it this year (got a busy weekend). But I’ll file that idea away for next!

    My friends and I are having a plastic egg hunt on Saturday though. We get cool grown-up prizes…like candles and lotions and stuff. We just put numbers in each “egg” so we know who gets what.

  7. Vicki's Vegan Vice says

    Your cookies & cakes are always super CUTE!! I’m up to my ears in paper mache eggs — like a little Easter pinata. Being vegan certainly doesn’t crimp your creative side ~ Happy Easter!! 🙂

  8. Whaling Station Believer says

    first of all, your cookies look amazing!! and secondly, you have such a kind heart! Your list of egg alternatives are just great.
    I always feel good after reading your blog…
    merci!

  9. Cody says

    Eggless egg-shaped cookies. So funny.

    I plan to make some myself tomorrow. I wish I could come up with another alternative to dying eggs, though… as making and decorating cookies is an every-holiday event for me.

  10. Jenny says

    Love your decorated cakes and cookies! My mom (who is omni) actually started doing sugar cookies a few years ago because my niece who lives with her does not like eggs. So, I think I will be stealing both her and your ideas! Thanks!

  11. Rural Vegan says

    I don’t know anyone in their right mind who would rather have old, boiled eggs instead of those amazing cookies or cupcakes. As usual, I am humbled by your decorating skills!

  12. Jennifer says

    What fun ideas! And you don’t have to be cruel (and gross) by dyeing eggs and eating them. So creative.

    Those cookies! Girl, you are awesome at cookie decorating, you should run a vegan bakery.

    THAT CAKE IS SO CUTE! Now, I really second what I said above about the bakery.

  13. Amy says

    I know the cookies in the pictures are a year old, but I’d still eat ’em! And don’t forget vegan chocolate bunnies!

  14. Leng says

    what an awesome idea! sugar cookies with decoration in the shapes of eggs. I like that better than eggs.

    You’re like the perfect guest to have over. You bring sweet treats along with a big smile. I love!

  15. Vegan_Noodle says

    So what are you doing for easter this year?!? Those cookies and cake are so fun, I love your decorating style 🙂 Oh, and I also saw something where you can buy wooden eggs so if you really like the dying/painting, you can still do that as well.

  16. ~randi~ says

    All so cute! I think I will be making cupcakes for Easter. Maybe sugar cookies also…I do love decorating cookies.
    Thanks for all the suggestions!

  17. Bonnie says

    So many good suggestions! I love the sugar cookie idea. And looking for eggs (or carrots) is always so much fun, haha 😀
    those pictures of last year (and that two layer cake! oh…) look great! your decorations are always so cheerful and happy 🙂

  18. Vaishali says

    I love your suggestions for cruelty-free ways to celebrate Easter. You’re so right- sugar cookies taste way better than eggs!

  19. Vegan Stiletto says

    Korean food is so yummy, but they usually put seafood and flesh in EVERYTHING even when you triple check. it’s too dangerous for me to eat it out very often, so I was very excited to find this book.

    And please do add me!!! thankyou!

  20. asmexyhousewife says

    These are great ideas. I’ve had an urge to make Papier-mâché eggs for Easter, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

  21. keeta says

    What awesome ideas! We are totally making sugar cookies today, I can’t wait!

    And that bunny cake is fabulous!!!

  22. melissa says

    what we do every year is buy wooden, foam, or paper mache eggs from the craft store and paint them! It’s tons of fun for the kids and we get to save them and use them as decoration year after year. sometimes we even make egg shaped cupcakes and decorate them. The kids don’t feel like they are missing out at all. 😉

  23. Kat says

    You could always pain wooden eggs instead of dying real eggs. That way you still get the fun (and the eggs will be a great present or decoration year after year after year!

  24. Brandie says

    Also, in case anyone’s interested, last year with my son (we’re vegan), we dyed wooden eggs! They hold the color, and you can color them with crayons etc first to make pics jst like on real eggs… and this year – to change it up a bit – I got little paper mache’ eggs at the craft store and we’re just going to paint them! I DO have the little plastic carrots though, so Jr has always gotten a carrot hunt at home.. and there’s lil treats for him inside 🙂

  25. Avra-Sha Faohla says

    Just curious . . . you say these are “cruelty-free” alternatives to dyeing eggs. Why not say “vegan” rather than “cruelty-free”? I don’t understand how using eggs is cruel, seeing as no chicks need to be killed to obtain eggs. Or potential chicks, even, as the eggs aren’t even fertilized.

    Keep in mind I’ve never done research into veganism so I apologize if this question seems a silly one with an obvious answer!

  26. Christy says

    love all these ideas even though its not around easter time right now. and you look so cute in the photo as always! your dogs adorable 🙂

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  28. Kathryn says

    I have those same shoes! I wish I had an adorable dress to go with them like you do!
    I finally tried your chocolate chip cookie dough pancakes last weekend and love them almost as much as the brownie batter ones. Plus, whatever I can get my son to eat is a winner and he sure likes both of them! 🙂

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