HARD-COOKED EGGS

Keep in mind that the fresher the egg, the harder it is to peel. Try to buy your Easter eggs a week or two in advance.

Put eggs in single layer in saucepan. Add enough tap water to cover the egg by at least 1-inch. Cover and quickly bring just to a boil. Remove pan from heat and let stand 17 minutes. Immediately run cold water over the eggs until cool.

When eggs are cool, thoroughly crack the shell and roll egg between hands to loosen shell. Start at the large end and peel.

DYING EASTER EGGS

You could just walk down to the corner store and pick up a prepackaged Easter egg kit, but you'd be missing out on half the fun of making Easter Eggs -- the opportunity to let your creativity go wild! When working from scratch with Easter eggs, consider the never-ending amount of options for making the dyes and for decorating the eggs. I've gathered a few of my favorite egg-dyeing techniques and decorating tips that'll help you make this year's Easter eggs the best yet!

Natural Dyes
If you are a nature-enthusiast, or just looking to experiment with some ingredients, natural egg-dyeing is exactly the technique for you. Almost any natural ingredient that you can think of (that has a vibrant color that will release in hot water) will work perfectly. When using natural dyes, it is a good idea to use distilled water (or water filtered of chlorine). Chlorine and other chemicals are commonly put into tap water to keep it safe to drink, but the chlorine will also work against the dye, making it less intense. You can buy distilled water or filter it yourself.

Working with natural dyes may take longer than working with the store-bought kind, depending on how intense you want the colors of your eggs to be. In order to get the natural dyes to stain the eggs a dark color, you will need to let the eggs sit in the dyes overnight in the refrigerator. If you let the eggs sit in the natural dyes for only a few hours, they will turn out a pastel color, which is also quite beautiful -- dye to your heart's desired hue!

Color

Blue: 1 cup canned blueberries (with syrup) or red cabbage leaves
Red: 1 cup canned cherries (with syrup)
Pale Red: Fresh beets or cranberries, frozen raspberries
Orange: Yellow onion skins
Green-Gold: Yellow Delicious apple peels
Pale Green: Spinach leaves
Beige to Brown: Strong brewed coffee
Golden Brown: Black Walnut Shells
Purple: 1 can sliced beets; or 1/2 cup grape juice concentrate
Yellow: 1/4 cup ground safflower; or 1/4 cup ground turmeric
Lt Yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin 

Food-Coloring Dyes
If you haven't the patience to experiment with natural dyes, but want to make Easter egg dye from scratch, dyes made with food coloring are a super simple and fun way. To make food-coloring dye: Drip (liquid, paste or gel) food coloring into bowls of water, and stir until the water reaches your desired hue. Try combining different colors to make original colors! Place the hard-cooked eggs into the colored water and let them sit until the eggs reach the hue you like. Remove the eggs from the dye and let them air-dry.

A Few Colorful Techniques

Dying: Place uncooked eggs in a glass or stainless steel 2-quart saucepan. Add enough water to come at least one inch above eggs. Add one tablespoon vinegar and desired natural material (blueberries, beets, or red cabbage), food coloring, or commercial dye. Cover saucepan and bring to boil; reduce heat and let simmer 20 minutes. Rinse with cold water and let air dry.

Tie-dying: This year how about a plaid egg, or a striped one? Just wrap eggs with rubber bands, dental floss, or strips of narrow masking tape before placing them in the dye. Be sure the egg is completely dry before removing the bands.

Printing: Do you want a quick, easy way to decorate eggs? All you'll need is a potato and poster paint or ink. Cut the potato into segments about 1 inch in diameter and then into any shape: squares, triangles, crescents, hearts. Then spread a thin layer of poster paint or ink on a plate, dip the blocks, and stamp it onto your egg, gently of course.

Stenciling: To begin, you'll need empty shells. Simply prick a tiny hole in the egg's large end using a paring knife. Slowly enlarge the hole to dime size. Run the knife inside the egg to break the yolk membrane. Hold the egg over a bowl and shake until the contents run out.

The only tools you'll need for this project are small sponges for stenciling, acrylic craft paints, and small (1 to 2-inch design) plastic stencils. Refer back to "printing" for how to decorate the egg.

Fancy Egg Designs

If simply-colored eggs just aren't fun enough for you, you can pull out your bag of egg-decorating tricks and start the ball rolling. I've highlighted a few of my favorites to get you started:

Abstract Eggs
The only other material you'll need to make these fancy eggs is strong glue like Rubber Cement. Once the eggs have been hard-cooked and dried, hold one egg in your hand and drip glue onto the egg's surface. You can drip the glue carefully to make a particular pattern, or you can let the glue drip freely for an abstract effect. Place the egg on a stand that will allow the glue to dry without getting too smudged (an egg carton will work). Once the glue has dried, place the eggs in your prepared dye mixtures. Once the eggs have become tinted to your liking, remove them from the water and rub the glue off of the eggs completely. The glue will peel off with a little effort, leaving the white of the egg shining through!

Tie-Dyed Eggs
Rubber bands are all you need to make tie-dyed eggs. Arm yourself with a collection of different sized rubber bands. Wrap the rubber bands, one at a time, around the eggs. Make sure to leave some of the egg shell exposed so it can be dyed. Once the eggs are dyed to the color you like, remove them from the water and let them dry. Once dried completely, pull the rubber bands off to reveal your banded design.

Crayon Eggs
Perhaps the simplest technique of all is the color-with-crayons method. Using a crayon, simply draw a design onto your eggs and then dye as you would any other Easter egg. Your crayon design will be accentuated by your choice of dye!

You could also try these other decorating tricks: Affixing stickers to the eggs before dyeing them, and then removing the stickers once the colors have set; dyeing the eggs a light color, and then using any of the techniques we've explained to layer more colors; or making a paste-like paint out of your food color (with a small amount of water), and then painting a decoration on the eggs before dying them completely again in another color!

EGG SAFETY

After decorating your eggs this Easter, refrigerate them as soon as possible. Refrigeration is an absolute must for eggs, since cold temperatures maintain quality and retard spoilage. Keep those eggs in the refrigerator until the glorious Easter egg hunt. As long as the eggs are not out of refrigeration over 2 hours and did not crack during the hunt, they will be safe for consumption. Following the hunt, if the eggs are not consumed, it is all right to refrigerate them again.

When left in their shells, hard-cooked eggs will remain edible for one week; however, if you prefer to peel the egg, put it in a tightly closed container or wrap them with moisture proof material and use within 2-3 days.

If you are considering freezing your hard-cooked Easter eggs, keep in mind the yolk will freeze well for topping and garnishes, but the whites become tough. Eggs should be thawed in the refrigerator overnight and used within 24 hours.