You have to admit - the best public holidays we have in New Zealand are the ones that also have food. And no public holiday stands out like Easter does, even if we've had hot cross buns in the supermarkets since January (but who's complaining!)
You may have grown out of sleepless nights waiting for a visit from the Easter Bunny, but if you claim to be unphased by the thought of chocolate in egg form or biting into a hot cross bun, well… you can't sit with us.
Of course, not all Easter-based delicacies are created equal (we're looking at you, tiny hard Easter eggs with peeling off wrappers that are still in the pantry from last year).
With that in mind, may we present a roundup of some of the most drool-worthy Kiwi Easter treats of 2022:
Whittaker's Chocolate Kiwi
It's hard to go past a classic when it comes to chocolate, and Whittaker's obvi know their stuff.
Their Chocolate Kiwi comes in both Five Roll Refined Creamy Milk or 50% Dark Chocolate, and you get the added warm fuzzies of knowing that 20c from every Chocolate Kiwi bought goes straight to the Save the Kiwi charity and their breeding programme.
Moustache Creme Egg Cookie Pie Pack
It's a freaking Creme Egg, BAKED INTO A COOKIE! OKAY?? What else is there to say?!
House of Chocolate
For those keen on a bougie Easter feast, this Kiwi family biz makes handcrafted eggs that are almost too pretty to eat. Their Pink Chocolate Egg is a work of art, lined with raspberries and hazelnuts and filled with Ruby hazelnut dragees.
Don't worry, we didn't know what 'dragees' were either - turns out it's just more chocolate with a candy shell. Yum.
Krispy Kreme
Donut pass up the opportunity to expand your horizons beyond the humble chocolate egg (sorry, couldn't help ourselves there) because Krispy Kreme has Easter-fied their traditional glazed doughnut.
The Easter Nest Doughnut is dipped in choc, dunked in sprinkles, swirled with choc crème, and then topped with a Darrell Lea Speckled Egg.
Waikato Valley Chocolates
These guys have got any kiddos in your life sorted (or your inner kiddo, no judgement here) with Unicorn, T-Rex and Pinata Easter eggs, and yes, the Pinata egg is filled with lollies.
Plus, they do grown-up Luxury Eggs and Great Kiwi Hunt 10 packs of mini eggs.
Honest Chocolat
If you or someone you love has food allergies that mess with Easter enjoyment levels - this is your one-stop-shop. All Honest Chocolat's products are gluten and soy-free, and most of them are dairy-free, too.
For a classic yet delicious gag, check out the Easter Bunny Golden Poo - sultanas coated in dairy-free milk chocolate and dusted with gold food colouring.
Devonport Chocolates
These guys have got all kinds of deliciousness on offer for Easter, but we have to admit the Tipsy Eggs have caught our attention.
They feature a layer of caramel and a layer of liquor ganache and include flavours like white chocolate with passionfruit and vodka, dark chocolate and Amaretto and milk chocolate and rum. Maybe don't let Aunty Deb get into too many of these on Sunday morning.
De’Longhi x GIAPO Easter Treat Box
Caffeine-lovers rejoice - this year De’Longhi x GIAPO Ice Cream has teamed up to create an Easter Treat Box that will keep your coffee and chocolate cravings in check.
The box contains GIAPO’s take on the quintessential hot cross bun, milk and dark chocolate Easter eggs, carrot cake ice cream and a bespoke recipe for a decadent Easter cinnamon s’mores coffee.
Plus, you can win a De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Plus coffee machine worth nearly $1450 if you're lucky enough to find the single, handcrafted golden egg that has been hidden in one of the boxes. Move over Charlie, it's our turn for a golden ticket.
Duck Island Ice Cream x Ima Cuisine
This is a collaboration made in sugary, spicy, custardy heaven.
Duck Island has taken Ima's hugely popular hot cross buns and infused them into an ice cream, which is flavoured with orange zest and spices before being blended with a second, custard-based ice cream and topped with sugar syrup, currants and citrus peel. Can we cope?
Miann
If you haven't heard of a Chickaron, now you have. It's a macaron shaped like a baby chick, and it's calling your name.
There's also Bunny and Carrot Macarons, hot cross buns and even a Star Wars-themed Fl-Egg (flat egg, perfect for shipping nationwide) on offer.
