Bake: No-Bake Bird’s Nests.

I am ready to get springy with it.
Ready to spring into action.
Springing to life.
I’m popping out of the snow like a daisy.
Anyone else have a good spring related pun?

To get in the spring mindset, I took one of my grandma’s trademark Easter treats and gave it steroids. These bird’s nests are easy and no-bake, just a little rich, and really adorable. I am just dying to make these gingerbread bird houses, just so I can stick a tiny nest in there.

Ingredients: (for approx. 24 bird’s nests made in a mini cupcake pan)

For the nest:
4 Mars bars
1/2 cup butter
2 cups Rice Krispies (the main ingredient found in Carlos’ Bakery cakes)

For the peanut butter filling:
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (use the kind that’s full of preservatives and crap, not the natural kind)
2.5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
splash of vanilla
pinch of salt
2 tbsp + 2 tsp. cream or milk

For the fun, woodsy texture:
1/8 cup pecans, chopped relatively finely
chocolate jimmies/sprinkles, chopped

Eggs:
Mini Eggs. Can also just use pastel colored M&Ms.

Make it.

The nests: Melt the Mars bars and butter together over low heat, stirring until relatively smooth. Nougat is pretty much impossible to melt, so don’t beat yourself up if it won’t get completely smooth.
Once you get it smooth enough, remove from the heat and mix in the Rice Krispies. Press the chocolate-covered cereal into the mini cupcake molds, or form them into little nests with your hands. Make sure you create a well in the middle, because you need space for the peanut butter filling. Refrigerate for about an hour, or stick in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm up.

The peanut butter filling: Beat together all ingredients except milk/cream until smooth and a little fluffy. If using milk, add then beat until incorporated. If using cream, add then beat until fluffy (about 2 mins).

To decorate: When nests are firm, pull them out of refrigeration.
Pile your peanut butter filling into a disposable icing bag (or a big ziploc bag), and snip the tip off. Pipe the filling into the well of the nests. You can also simply spoon the filling in.
After that, chop the nuts and sprinkles together. Honestly, my as-seen-on-TV Slap Chop is my favorite tool for that job. I call this mixture the “woodsy mixture”, because it magically makes anything look woodsy.
Sprinkle the woodsy mixture over the piped peanut butter filling, top with a couple of Mini Eggs, and re-sprinkle the woodsy mixture. That last sprinkling isn’t really supposed to stay on, it’s just supposed to fill the more visible spots of pb filling.

Stick back in the fridge to set, and you’re done! Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Eggs and cheesy. Lebanese-y.
I would recommend removing them from the fridge 30 mins before serving, because nobody likes a too-hard Mini Egg. No one.

Enjoy this fun treat!

Tags: bird nests, chocolate and peanut butter no bake, easter dessert, easter nests, mars bar cake, mini eggs