The Easter bunny is packing up his basket as you read this and getting ready to make his rounds for Sunday’s Easter holiday. No doubt the home chefs are also planning their culinary masterpieces for the weekend feast. It isn’t all about eggs, although they will make a stellar appearance in most homes.

The two can put their talents together to make a traditional feast topped off with special homemade treats just for the occasion.

Making any dessert fit the holidays can be done with a little imagination. Turn gelatin into finger gelatin by using less water and use cookie cutters to make bunny, egg and basket shapes. Make your best cake and decorate it to look like a basket full of treats.

Or you might try some of the recipes below to set the holidays in motion. The Easter bunny won’t mind if you give him a little competition in the treat department.

Easter Bunny Cut-Up Cake

Start with two 9-inch layer cakes from a mix or use the red velvet recipe below. (You can freeze the layers to make them easier to manipulate). Leave one cake intact to serve as the face. Cut the other cake into thirds, making the middle section into an hourglass shape and arrange pieces as shown. (See diagram on B8).

Frost with white frosting and top with coconut if desired. Leave space for eyes and centers of ears. Frost these with pink icing. Create face using gumdrops for eyes and licorice whips for mouth and whiskers.

Red Velvet Cake

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons cocoa

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1 cup butter milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vinegar

Mix together shortening, sugar, eggs, red food coloring, water and vanilla. Sift cocoa, salt and flour together and mix with other mixture. Add buttermilk and mix. Mix together soda and vinegar and fold into batter.

Ice the cake as desired and decorate with Easter candy decorations.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs

2 packages unflavored gelatin

6 tablespoons cold water

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Food color of your choice (optional)

Soften gelatin in cold water. Pour in boiling water and stir over low heat to dissolve. Remove from heat and beat with an electric mixer until very thick — about 15 minutes. Add food coloring if desired. Paste colors work better than liquid coloring.

Fill a dripper pan with flower and smooth. Make indentation in flour using an egg. Fill with marshmallow and let set. Remove and coat flat side of egg with melted chocolate (about 200 degrees, no warmer). Place on waxed paper chocolate side down. Coat round side with chocolate. Decorate if desired.

Coconut Covered Marshmallows

Make marshmallow as directed in recipe above. Instead of placing in flour molds, place mixture in a square pan and cool covered with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. Cut into squares and roll in colored coconut.

Coconut Snowballs

(Makes 12 balls)

6 cups puffed rice or crisp rice cereal

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 pound large marshmallows

1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy (optional)

Confectioner’s sugar icing

Flaked or shredded coconut

Heat rice cereal in shallow pan in oven at about 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Pour into a large greased bowl. Melt butter and marshmallows in top of double boiler over boiling water. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Add crushed candy. Pour over rice stirring until evenly coated. With greased hands shape into balls. Roll in coconut while still sticky or wait until balls are firm then frost with icing and roll in coconut after icing sets. Decorate with paper ears and gumdrops for eyes and nose and licorice whips for whiskers.

Edwin’s Goofballs

1 pound caramels

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 package large marshmallows

Crisp rice cereal

Melt caramels and sweetened condensed milk together in the top of a double boiler. Keep water under the caramel mixture hot. You may set the pan into an electric fry pan with hot water to melt it and keep it hot.

With a toothpick or nut pick, dip large marshmallows into the caramel mixture one by one then roll them in Crisp rice cereal until completely covered. Cool until caramel sets.