Easter Nest Cookies Recipes

BIRDS NEST COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large microwave safe bowl add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter. Microwave stirring after every 30 seconds until melted and smooth.
• Add in the bag of chow Mein noodles and mix until combined. Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the mixture and place on parchment paper. Top with 3 Cadbury eggs. Let sit until chocolate has hardened.

EASTER EGG SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• For the sugar dough: Whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat together the vanilla and egg in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again, slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, beating until combined after each and increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 2 even pieces. Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Dust another sheet of parchment with flour and put 1 dough piece on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out between the parchment sheets into a square about 1/4 inch thick (and about 11 by 9 inches) and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
• Working with 1 dough sheet at a time, cut out cookies with a 2 1/2- by 2 2/4-inch Easter egg cookie cutter and arrange on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate while you cut the remaining cookies. Reroll any scraps of dough and repeat the freezing, cutting and refrigerating process until all the dough is used. Repeat with the remaining dough sheet.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until cookies are golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
• For the icing: Meanwhile, sift the confectioners' sugar into a large bowl. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until the icing is thick enough to show the line of the whisk that disappears within about 8 seconds.
• Place 3 tablespoons white icing in each of 3 separate bowls. Tint each a different color and cover with plastic wrap (see Cook's Note). Place 1/4 cup white icing in another bowl, covering the remaining white icing with plastic wrap so it does not dry out. Drizzle one of the colored icings (about 1 tablespoon) onto the 1/4 cup white icing and swirl with a toothpick.
• Next, dip the surface of a cookie in the swirled icing and remove slowly, allowing any excess to drip off. Shake the cookie over the bowl of icing to remove any excess. Gently smooth the icing with a toothpick to fill in any gaps, if necessary. Place the finished cookies on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Use the tip of the toothpick to pop any bubbles that appear. Drizzle more colored icing as needed. Repeat this process with the next 2 colors and the remaining white icing until all the cookies are decorated. Let set for 30 minutes. Store single layers of cookies, with parchment in between, in a tightly sealed container for up to 1 week.

BONNIE'S EASTER NEST COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. This recipe makes 30 cookies. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Sift together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix the shortening, sugar, milk, egg white and the vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the coconut and mix well. Form into 30 one-inch balls. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Depress the center with your thumb, leaving a thumbrint in the center of the cookie. (that is the nest that holds the eggs) Bake in a pre-heated oven for about 10 or 12 minutes, depending on your oven, just until the bottoms start to brown and a hint of brown reaches the tops of the cookies. Remove from the oven and place the Jelly Belly beans, 4 or 5 to a nest. Return the cookies to the oven and bake 5 minutes more. Watch them carefully the last couple of minutes to make sure they don't melt. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Happy Easter!

EASTER NEST COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375° F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, butter and egg until dough forms.
• Shape dough into 24 (2-inch) balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• Frost cookies. Add coconut to a 1-quart resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add 2 to 3 drops food color, shaking bag to blend color. It may be necessary to add 1 to 2 teaspoons water to help disperse the color evenly or additional food color until desired color is reached.
• Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon coconut onto each cookie. Top with jelly beans.