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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Chocolate Bird's Nest Cookies

These little treats came about one night when I was scavenging the freezer for something sweet to eat. I spotted a bag of peanut butter egg M&Ms, tore it open, and started popping them in my mouth. Suddenly, I stopped. I knew if I wasn't careful, the entire bag would be gone in a few hours. (History has proven this) I knew the only way I'd be able to put them back is if I had a reason to use them. I'm willing to make sacrifices for baking!

Thankfully, I had a vision of how I could use these. I pictured little bird's nests, topped with the M&M eggs. Quickly, I closed the bag, stuck it back in the freezer, and immediately added pretzels and peanuts to my grocery list. The next day I picked up my missing ingredients and once again opened the freezer in search of the peanut butter M&Ms...but this time with a mission in mind!

These adorable bird's nest cookies are what resulted. With only four ingredients these are incredibly easy to make, and these were a big hit when I brought them to church one Sunday morning! Perfect for Easter or Springtime, these taste as good as they look...and peanut butter M&Ms are much more fun to eat amongst chocolate covered pretzels and peanuts ;)


One Year Ago: Lucky Charms Treats


Chocolate Bird's Nest Cookies
*makes approximately 3 dozen nests, depending on how big you make them


Ingredients:
-1 bag of peanut butter Egg M&Ms (you won't use the whole bag, but I'm sure you can handle the extras!)
-2 1/2-3 1/2 cups pretzel sticks, broken in half
-1-1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts
-1 (12 oz.) bag chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave in a microwavable bowl. If using the microwave, stir every 30 seconds to prevent burning.
2. Once chocolate is melted and smooth, stir in pretzels and peanuts, mixing to fully coat the mix-ins with chocolate.
3. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture onto wax paper-lined baking sheets, about 1 or 2 inches apart from each other. Top each "nest" with 1 or 2 M&M eggs. Place baking sheets in fridge for 1 hour, or until hard. Transfer to airtight containers and store in fridge until ready to serve. (**Can be made up to one week ahead of time!)