Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Nesting

I suppose it is a tad late for an Easter post, but let's just consider this a springtime in general post. I did make these little Bird's Nest macaroons for Easter, but they'd work just as well for any spring party, a baby shower, or Mother's Day. I love macaroons anytime; I even made them for our wedding. While, yes, they are on the sweet and rich side, it's all good if you only have a few!

I really wanted to put some of my very favorite Easter candies into my baking this year. You see, I'm a huge sucker for Cadbury Mini Eggs. Huge sucker. I buy bags as soon as they hit the shelves, in fear that stores will run out if I wait too long. I am known to squirrel them away for as long as possible, so I can eat them in secret and not share them with anyone else. I have even eaten a bag in a day (but thankfully that was in college, and my binging has limited itself to other areas). I didn't want to go there this year, supposed to be growing up and all that noise. So I bought one bag only, and decided to make nests from my favorite macaroons. D-Money helped with these, so I didn't even open the bag until I got to her house the day before Easter. Half the bag was smashed, so we gleefully scarfed down the broken bits and had enough left for 2 dozen nests.

Bird's Nest Macaroons
(I use Martha Stewart's recipe for the Macaroons)

Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
pinch of salt
2 Tsp. vanilla
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 14 oz. bags of flaked coconut
Cadbury Mini Eggs

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.
Beat eggs and salt until frothy and white.
Stir in vanilla and milk.
Fold in coconut until it is all incorporated.
Using a teaspoon or a 1 inch cookie dough scoop, scoop onto baking sheets. They won't spread, so you can fill 'er up!
Bake for 20 minutes or until just golden.
Using a wooden spoon end, make small indentations in the top of macaroons. Fill each hole with a mini egg. 
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6 comments:

Pam said...

I will have to try this next Easter! Love all that delicious coconut and they look great!

Jen said...

those look awesome. I'm the only coconut lover so I never get things like this.

Kathleen said...

I love these little nests. Your homemade peeps are the bomb!

Kim said...

Super cute spring time treats! My daughter would love them.

NMOS said...

That looks pretty creative. Nice job!

Kim said...

Loved that youtube video! He blew that eggshell right off, didn't he? - LOL