It’s the day after Easter and I’m still thinking of eggs!  That’s because we’re having work done on our house, so we didn’t have time to dye eggs this year.  Yet I have 3 dozen eggs sitting in my fridge.  We can’t forgo this Springtime custom!  So, we’re going to hollow out many of the eggs and decorate them in a more Spring-like fashion to display for the season.  Maybe I’ll look for photos of real birds eggs that are different colors and try to duplicate the look.

Meanwhile, I had to learn how to hollow out eggs.  It’s much easier than I thought!  There are two ways to do it.  Both methods are explained below with photos.

Method 1 for Hollowing out Eggs

The first way to hollow out eggs involves making two holes on each end of the egg and blowing out the inner egg.  The advantage to this method is that the holes can be smaller.

1) First, I recommend washing the egg with soap and water. 

2) Second, take a thick pin and gently push it into the egg on the long end.  You can use a scrunched up paper towel to help push it in.

3) Third, make a hole on the other end of the egg.

4) Leave one hole very small and make the other a little larger.

5) Take the needle and put it into the hole and break the yolk.

6) Blow hard into the little hole with your mouth to get the egg to come out the larger hole and into a bowl.

(Okay, it does look gross and you don’t want it going in your mouth!  There could be a small danger here of salmonella poisoning.  If you’re worried about this, use method 2 below.)

7) Once the whole egg has been blown out of the shell, gently wash the shell in warm soapy water. (I washed it twice.)  Then rinse it and put on paper towel to dry.

Method 2 for Hollowing out Eggs

Using this method you don’t have to blow out the egg – making it safer, because the egg isn’t near your mouth.  You make only one larger hole in one side of the egg and shake out the egg.  Here’s how:

1) Wash the egg with soap and water.

2) Take a thick pin and gently push it into the egg on the long end.  You can use a scrunched up paper towel to help push it in. (See photo in step 2 above.)

3) Take the needle and put it into the hole gently making the hole bigger.  Then break the yolk with the pin.

4) Empty the egg into a bowl by gently shaking the egg out the hole.

The hole may end up bigger after the egg comes out (watch out for shells if you’re using the inner egg.)

5) Gently wash the shell in warm soapy water. (I washed it twice.)  Then rinse it and put on paper towel to dry.

My sister’s friends came for dessert on Easter.  She brought with her eggs hollowed out using method 2.  Then she dyed them with her kids.  Lastly, they put confetti into the holes of the eggs. Then they glued a piece of colored tissue paper over the hole of each egg with Elmer’s Glue.  Then the kids took the eggs and cracked them over each other’s heads and confetti came out.  Fun!  Thanks to Diane for the great idea!

It turns out that confetti eggs are a tradition in Mexico called Cascarones. According to Wikipedia:

Decorated, confetti-filled cascarones are either thrown (for instance, during the fiesta of Carnaval) or crushed over the recipient’s head showering him or her with confetti. This tradition is most often carried out among friends and family. Like many popular traditions in Mexico, cascarones are increasingly popular in the southwestern United States. In addition to Easter, cascarones have become popular during occasions including birthdays, Halloween, Cinco de Mayo, Dieciséis, Day of the Dead, and weddings (wedding cascarones can be filled with birdseed)…. Having a cascarón broken over your head is said to bring good luck.”

Zoe at Play by the Book recommends adding glitter to the eggs for fun and dyed rice to give them extra weight to make them easier for small kids to crush them.

Enjoy whatever you decide to make with your hollowed out eggs!  Come back soon for details about coloring the egg shells.

Mama Lisa

NOTE: Here’s a link to the FDA’s page about Playing it Safe about Eggs – for info about egg safety.