18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, March 22, 1913: Didn’t do so very much today.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
In 1913 Easter was on March 23, so this was the day before Easter. Did the Muffly’s make Chocolate-Covered Coconut Eggs?
It was an Easter tradition when I was a child to make Chocolate-Covered Coconut Eggs. We’d start with a coconut and first tap holes with a nail and drain the coconut milk—and then break the coconut apart and get the meat out. We used an old metal grinder to grate the coconut.
The freshly grated coconut and coconut milk gives the candy a wonderfully fresh taste.
Chocolate-Covered Coconut Eggs
3 pounds confectioners’ sugar
1/2 pound grated fresh coconut
1/4 pound butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
coconut milk
melted confectioners’ chocolate*
Combine all ingredients except chocolate. Add just enough coconut milk to make a soft dough; shape into small eggs and place on cookie sheets or plates that have been covered with waxed paper. Let dry overnight. Coat with melted chocolate. Store in refrigerator.
*Coating can be made by melting and stirring together 1/4 pound paraffin and 1 pound sweet chocolate
Makes approximately 50 pieces of candy.
A Hundred Years Ago 
This sounds so delicious! I bet it makes a huge difference to use fresh coconut, vs. the dried out stuff I buy in bags. Do you think they had access to whole coconuts in the Northeast in those days?
Oh, yummy. Maybe Grandma was still tired from all her partying!
Fascinating Sheryl… I’ve never heard of anything like it. Reckon my youngest Grandson will love making these with me 🙂 Thanks…
Yummy – I’m so tempted to try and make these I printed out the recipe!
sounds wonderful.. We made home made coconut (fresh) crumbles last Christmas. Taste so much better than store bought coconut. We will have to try this recipe.
Wow, I’ve never even bought a coconut only the bagged kind. Would they have found a real coconut in their grocery back then?
The railroads were bringing a broad range of foods to rural Pennsylvania by the early 1900s. I think that coconuts–as well as oranges and grapefruits–were available. They might have been relatively more expensive than they are now.
Wow, that’s awesome. I’m almost certain my Great Grandparents never saw a real coconut. They should’ve immigrated to Pennsylvania instead. 😀
A lovely recipe, but I know how hard it is to crack open a coconut and retrieve the meat. Grew up in Florida and watched my Dad do it. Tis not an easy task, but the milk and the meat are delicious.
I find that I sometimes appreciate foods more when I have to work hard to get them. 🙂
What a wonderful recipe…that I should try! There is nothing quite like the smell and taste of fresh coconut! My Dad used to bring coconuts home, break them open and we drank the milk and ate the meat…never have used it in a recipe. This looks so tasty and pretty!
Amazing recipe. I can’t even believe you shared it! Yum . . . .
Sounds delicious!
I looove coconut yet have never heard of these…and I live in the tropics.
I’ve enjoyed other recipes of yours, but please help to stop people from putting paraffin in chocolate! There is such a thing as “food-grade” paraffin, but it passes through you. Paraffin is made from crude oil. It’s best to use something with a lower melting point to help give chocolate shine and to thin it slightly to make it easier to dip (new trans-fat free shortening can do that). The trick is that any water–even a drop–will make the chocolate seize up and not work for dipping. Another tip is to not overheat your chocolate. You can melt chocolate in a low temp oven maybe 250, but make sure to stir often if you use a microwave or it may scorch or dry out. The top of a double boiler works, just be really wary of the water underneath…
My parents started a fine chocolates candy company when I was in high school and put me to work right away! It’s fun to be a professional chocolate dipper.
Maril
Thanks for the information. The old recipe used paraffin and I hadn’t realized that there were better options.
I can’t think of a better job for a teen than working as a professional chocolate dipper in the family candy business. It sounds awesome!
You certainly know how to make my mouth water.
You’d like it. It is mouth watering.
I will be happy to evaluate anytime. Just send me a box of them.
🙂
Omnomnom!!!
This recipe sounds very tasty! Yummm!
My mother, Mae Gerace, was born 1913 in Palo Alto, PA. (outside Pottsville) When she was 16 years old, she went to work in a candy company in Palo Alto. If my memory is correct, the name was Costa Candy. Every Easter my mother made homemade chocolate covered, fresh coconut eggs for all of the children in the family. when I was 5 years old, all of my older cousins were happily waiting for the candy and I said “I do not like them”. My mother never made them again and my cousins never forgave me. I will be 75 tomorrow and decided to search for her recipe. Thank You! My grandchildren will love this.
Catherine O.
Thanks for sharing the story. I hope that your grandchildren enjoy the candy.