Part candy, part cookie, these candy nests are easy to make and the crunchy, salty pretzels are delicious with the sweet butterscotch coating. Kids can help by breaking the pretzels, scooping the nests and arranging the eggs in them.
Directions for: Butterscotch Bird Nests
Ingredients
cup blanched almond slivers
10 oz vanilla "make your own" almond bark
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups pretzel sticks, broken in half
cup unsweetened coconut chips (often found in the health food aisle)
1 cup candy-coated mini chocolate eggs (about 50)
Directions
1. Heat a large, dry saute pan over medium heat. Add the almond slivers and toast, shaking the pan every minute, until they are fragrant and begin to darken in areas, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt the almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl according to package instructions. Stir in the butterscotch chips. Microwave another 30 seconds, and then stir until smooth.
3. Stir in the almonds, pretzels and coconut, coating evenly. Drop the mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, onto the prepared baking sheets. Nestle in 1 or 2 of the mini eggs. If the mixture starts to cool and become too firm to work with, microwave for 30 seconds and stir gently. Let the nests cool at room temperature until solid.
Tips and Substitutions
You can also drop the mixture into mini paper candy/cupcake liners for giftable packaging.
Source and Credits
Recipe courtesy of Morgan Hass for Food Network Kitchen
See more: Candy, Easter, Kid-Friendly, Nuts, Snack