If you haven’t finalized your Easter menu just yet, we have some recipes that will not only make you do a double take but are sure to “sweeten” up your Easter dinner.
Reynolds Wrap is combining two favorite Easter traditions into one head-turning dish, creating three different recipes for sweet and salty “candied hams.” You read that right — ham glazed with, coated in and decorated in candy.
Each of Reynolds Wrap’s recipes uses classic, nostalgia-inducing candies like jelly beans, sour gummies and marshmallow candies. All three recipes call for an 8-10 pound bone-in, smoked ham. Reynolds Wrap recommends serving them on edible Easter grass, but that’s where the similarities end — and the fun begins.
First up, the Jelly Bean Candy Ham recipe calls for creating a glaze with jelly beans and orange juice, brushing it on the ham, then inserting skewers with jelly beans onto the backside of the ham once it’s baked. All you’ll need for the recipe is a half cup of orange juice, 200 jelly beans, 50 toothpicks and an extra 1.5 cups of red, orange, yellow and pink jelly bean candies.
If jelly beans aren’t your Easter candy of choice, how about something to make your guests’ faces pucker? The Sour Candy Ham calls for a citrus lemonade glaze, plus vibrant rainbow-colored candy strips draped over the ham. You’ll need 1.5 cups of sour gummy candies, 3/4 of a cup of lemonade and 15 to 20 10-inch-long rainbow sour strips, like AirHeads Extremes.
You’ll melt lemonade and sour gummies in a saucepan, then brush the glaze onto the ham. You’ll then drape and press the sour candy strips onto the cooked ham. The stickiness of the glaze should hold the strips in place, but you can use toothpicks if needed. You can even make the color more vibrant by brushing or spraying lemonade over the candy.
Last on the list, the Marshmallow Ham coats ham in a rich marshmallow fluff for a creamy texture and sweet flavor. You’ll also line the ham with sugar-coated seasonal treats, like Spangler Bunnies and Chicks.
To make the glaze, you’ll combine marshmallow fluff and butter in a saucepan, simply stirring until it’s smooth. Once the ham is glazed, you’ll put egg whites and sugar in a double boiler and whisk, then transfer to an electric mixer and whip on high until stiff peaks have formed. Then, simply fold in vanilla and spread the coating onto the ham. Press the marshmallow candies in a decorative pattern.
While these recipes are certainly show-stoppers, it’s not the first time Reynolds has taken a holiday dinner staple up a notch. The brand has created everything from a Mac and Cheese Turkey for Thanksgiving 2019 to a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Turkey and even an edible Glitter Turkey.
Last Thanksgiving saw a whopping three turkey recipes, all inspired by another classic American food: the hot dog. Their hot dog turkey recipes were inspired by popular hot dog styles and include the no-ketchup Chicago style, the onion- and sauerkraut-covered New York style and a chili-cheese dog.
Back to those hams, though: If you’re willing to serve up a candy-coated ham, you might also be interested in a few other unique Easter dishes.
This Peep s’mores dessert is made in a skillet using 3-5 different Peeps colors. Or, check out these cocktails that use chocolate bunnies as edible glasses and call for you first eating the bunny’s ears. You’ll then fill them with Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur, scotch whiskey and banana liqueur.
If cooking anything for Easter sounds like too much work, however, you can buy fully-prepared Easter dinners from a few restaurants and websites including Cracker Barrel, Omaha Steaks and Williams Sonoma.
Happy Easter!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.
