Confession: I Can't Boil an Egg

You read it right - I can't do it. I've tried all the methods. Start with cold water, bring it to a boil, turn off the heat, cover it, let it sit for 15 minutes... Then there's adding some vinegar to the water. I've boiled the eggs forever. I've used cold eggs and room temperature eggs. I just can't do it. I always get one of two (and sometimes BOTH) results: The peel sticks to the whites, leaving a yolk with a thin layer of chunky, misshapen white around it. Or, the yolk is still gooey in the center. Now, I don't care if the yolk has that greenish tinge around it. I just want to be able to make Deviled Eggs and egg salad that isn't all yolk.

It's quite embarrassing that I can't do this. I can make cakes from scratch. I love baking homemade croissants and making my own puff pastry for danishes. I can Create an 8-course Thanksgiving Dinner for 20 people and have everything get done cooking at the same time (that one took a LOT of practice!) So, why can't I make a hard-boiled egg?!

Last Year's Egg Hunt (Yeah, it was warm out!)

Now, every year, I host a little Egg Hunt and games for the kids in the neighborhood. It's nothing formal - just something fun to do to welcome spring. I would love to use real eggs this year. I can't figure out WHERE my husband stored our plastic eggs, OK? I refuse to buy more, so we are going to need to do this with real eggs. Plus, I want to try out some natural egg-dying methods. I've been saving up my yellow onion skins for a couple of months, and I froze some of the beets from last year's garden just for the occasion! The thing is, I don't want to send all of these kids home with eggs that haven't been cooked correctly.

So, I need your help - PLEASE! How do I boil an egg so it peels easily and the yolk is cooked all the way?