Kids were here for a long weekend. Even though Easter is still two weeks away, we answered a pent up need to color Easter eggs. They’ll do it again at home closer to the actual day, but it’s a fun activity and why not do it more than once!

My part was prepping the eggs. I’ve tried numerous methods over the years that promised successful peeling, but I found the answer in Cook’s Illustrated’s The Science of Good Cooking. There’s a scientific explanation for this technique that you can pursue if you like, but the bottom line is that it works every time!

For easy to peel hard boiled eggs:

Cover a single layer of eggs with at least an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil on high heat.
Shut off the heat. Cover and let sit for 12 minutes for large eggs.
Fill a bowl with cold water and a tray of ice cubes. Set aside.
After 12 minutes, pour off the cooking water.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs to the ice water bath.
Let sit for 5 minutes.

This technique works all the time, even if coloring the eggs isn’t part of the plan!