Add a taste of Michigan to your Easter basket

When I was a little girl, the Easter Bunny always seemed to have a partnership with Sanders, as was reflected in my basket. I was a Detroit kid, so naturally that made sense. Luckily, our favorite furry friend of spring seems to have an excellent relationship with several companies throughout the state. In case you’re looking to fill a basket yourself, here are some sources that can definitely help sweeten the day for someone you love.

Kilwins

The flagship shop is in Petoskey, and it’s especially Wonka-esque this time of year. There are a wealth of options available ranging from tiny chocolate eggs wrapped in colorful foil, all the way up to a Giant Heritage Bunny. The latter of which might be a bit much for a basket, standing 3-feet tall and weighing in at over 20 pounds! However, smaller, equally scrumptious bunnies abound. They even offer bunny ears in the chocolate of your choice. Even more adorable are the tails, which are cute little balls of peanut butter coated in chocolate. On the more decorative and decadent side, you’ll find cream-filled eggs there this year. Those are available with peanut butter, chocolate, strawberry, lemon or coconut centers.

Alpine Chocolat Haus

They may be more known for bear claws, but at this time of year, it’s bunnies galore. You’ll find them hopping, kicking soccer balls, and even driving boats. It should particularly come as no surprise that this Gaylord-based chocolatier even has bunnies riding snowmobiles. If rabbits aren’t your favorite spring icon, there are also chicks, crosses, and of course, plenty of eggs. Many of the eggs include fudge flavors like chocolate, peanut butter, maple pecan, and walnut.

Shurms Candy

If your kiddo is much more enamored with gummy sweet treats than chocolate, turn to Shurms for a bag or two of flavorful fun. These candies are shaped like Upper and Lower Peninsulas. You can get a pouch of the original sweet Michi-gummies, a sour version, or even cinnamon.

Cherry Republic

Most of the delicious offerings from this Northern Michigan staple come in bags that are about 8-oz. However, for Easter, they have collections of 1-oz bags of Sour Cherry Patches or Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries. Those are ideal for baskets or passing out to holiday guests. They also have cute heart-shaped jelly beans called Cherry Sweethearts. The 8-oz bag includes Sour Cherry, Cherry Cheesecake, Black Cherry, Cherry Cola, Bing Cherry, and Wild Cherry flavors.

Sanders

Like most of the other candy-makers Sanders is loaded with chocolatey goodness. If you’re looking for assortments to serve at an Easter celebration, you can’t go wrong with any of their boxed collections. You might even want to pick up an infamous Bumpy Cake for dessert. They also have peanut butter bunnies draped in milk chocolate. At this time of year, you can get tubs of their incredibly popular sea salt caramels that are egg-shaped. Alternatively, individually wrapped versions are also available.

There are so many scrumptious ways to put a little Michigan sweetness in your Easter celebration this year. Just ask the Easter Bunny, he’s been doing it for decades.