When you walk into Sweet’s of Lake Forest this time of year you cannot help but notice a large chocolate Easter Bunny atop the ice cream freezer.

The confectionary creation, along with one of Santa Claus made for Christmas, has been a mainstay of holiday seasons for the company for years, according to owner Susan Dick.

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The solid chocolate—either milk or dark—rabbit is three feet tall and weighs between 35 and 40 pounds. It is not easy to make and retails for $295. “People use it as their centerpiece and use hammers to (break) it into pieces (to eat it),” Dick said.

Between three and four are sold each Easter. The most has been six and they are a special order item because of the time it makes to create one. “He (candy maker Alberto Estela) takes a lot of time tempering the chocolate,” Dick aid. “He has to fill every crevice.”

When the bunny is done and ready for delivery to the customer, it gets treated like a human. “We put it in the passenger seat and fasten the seatbelt,” Dick said.

Sweet’s has a wide selection of holiday treats as the photographs with the story demonstrate.

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