No Bake Chocolate and Coconut Bird’s Nest Cookies

Once Valentine’s Day has passed, I’m ready to jump right into spring. Even though we are still in the middle of winter, there is so much to look forward to this time of year! Daylight Savings time and glorious sunlight are both on the way back, and Easter (my favorite holiday) is just around the corner. Celebrate the return of spring with darling no bake chocolate and coconut bird’s nest cookies.

As much as I love to bake, sometimes it’s nice to prepare no bake recipes. The measuring is simple and it’s a great way to have smaller children help in kitchen. Nothing hot to worry about here, except for the melted chocolate.

So what do these no bake chocolate and coconut bird’s next cookies look like anyway?

Ingredients for Chocolate Coconut Bird’s Next cookies

Well, this is pretty easy. They only take 3 ingredients and the title kind tells the whole story

• Chocolate: I recommend Ghirardelli chocolate melting wafers, (affiliate link) but chocolate chips are fine.
• Coconut: I like the sweetened version of shredded coconut. (affiliate link) We will first toast it.
• Easter Eggs: There are quite a variety of Easter Eggs (affiliate link) in the store, so pick your favorite.

True Confession. I fibbed a little. Even though the cookies themselves are no bake, you do need to toast the coconut. But don’t worry because it’s easy.

How to toast coconut

• Preheat oven to 350° F
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper
• Spread sweetened, shredded coconut onto the pan evenly
• Toast in the oven on the middle rack for 5 minutes
• Stir coconut around a little and return to oven for another 1 or 2 minutes
• Coconut should be browned, not burned. And if it is not evenly browned, that’s perfectly normal
• Allow it to cool completely on the pan and then put into a storage container. Leftovers will store for a week or two on the counter at room temperature in a sealed container.

The best tip I can provide you for toasting your coconut, is to use a timer and don’t walk away. Stay right there. It will go from lightly browned to burned in mere seconds. So keep a close eye on it while it’s in the oven.

I suggest toasting the whole bag even though we don’t need a whole bag for the recipe. Toasted coconut is delicious sprinkled onto yogurt or ice cream or used in homemade granola. I find that I’ll eat up the toasted coconut, but a half used, open bag of shredded coconut tends to go to waste. And I’m trying to not waste any food if possible. It’s simply too expensive these days to throw out anything.

What about the chocolate for the Bird’s Nest Cookies?

I’m so glad you asked! I recommend the Ghirardelli melting wafers. I always use them for any recipe I make that uses a drizzle or a dip of chocolate. It’s smoother and it dries to a lovely, shiny finish. You can add a touch of vegetable oil or coconut oil to thin slightly. Chocolate chips are what most people use, because generally a home cook has them on hand. So you can use them, but the melting isn’t quite as nice because chips are designed to HOLD their shape, not melt.

Ok, so let’s get on with it, how do we actually make these No Bake Chocolate and Coconut Bird’s Nest Cookies?

• Toast the coconut and let it cool.
• Melt the chocolate.
• Stir the melted chocolate into a bowl with the toasted coconut.
• Scoop with a spoon or a cookie scoop a portion of the mixed chocolate and coconut onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
• Using the back of the spoon or cookie scoop, make a little indentation in the top of the mound to simulate the nest.
• Put a couple of your favorite little Easter eggs in that indentation and refrigerate for a couple hours.
• ENJOY!

That’s pretty much it! Easy to make and delicious to eat. Super fun to have at a brunch or an Easter gathering. I do hope you’ll try out this yummy, easy treat. And I if you store a few extra bags of Easter candy away in your pantry, you can make these as a surprise in summer! How fun would that be?

🐰

Print