Aren't these adorable?  They are the perfect little thing to put on your Easter table. And they are completely edible.  Kids and adults alike will love them.  I wanted to post this far enough in advance that you would have time to go out and get the proper ingredients to make them, if you wanted to.

When I first posted the recipe for Italian Easter Bread three years ago, I couldn't believe the response. Every year as Easter approaches, I still get many e-mails about this recipe, so I thought I would make it again in a little different way and this also gives me the chance to update the recipe a little.

This bread is a sweet, delicious bread and so kids love it.  When I've made it for my kids I've usually topped it with colored sprinkles and eggs dyed different colors.  This year, I made golden eggs and topped the breads with Swedish Pearl Sugar from Lars, which doesn't melt when you bake the bread and looks pretty. 

If you look for recipes for the traditional Italian Easter Pie, you will find many variations.  Some people call it a pie and some call it a cake.  Some have meat inside and some do not.  There are so many different ways to make it, but they are all savory.  This recipe is one that I have had for twenty-five years.  It comes from a very authentic source - Anna Teresa Callen, who is now in her eighties. She is a very well known cooking teacher and author who lives in New York City. She is from the Abruzzo region of Italy.  She says this pie is traditionally made with 33 layers of dough, one for each of the years that Christ lived.  But she makes this with twelve - for each of the apostles (and a whole lot easier!)