April is typically a big month for my family with my son’s birthday in early April and then Easter typically a little later in the month (or in March but those years are not my favorite). So I’m always trying to come up with fun themed desserts to make Easter special for my kids so my April birthday son doesn’t feel like he’s getting jipped with two big holidays in one month. I’ve already shared an Easter bark, these mini egg cheesecakes, and of course my Easter bunny cupcakes – but it never hurts to share a few more cute Easter recipes right? These chocolate Easter nests are pretty much as easy as they get with just 3-ingredients, plus the Cadbury mini eggs on top. Also, I’ll tell you a secret – I don’t personally love Cadbury Mini Eggs, but they’re cute in this so I used them anyway. My personal preference would be to something more like robin eggs, jelly beans, or any of the tons of other egg options out there. But again, just my opinion. And that’s a secret so don’t spread it out there because I like to use Mini Cadbury Eggs in my recipe because again, cute.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to make – this recipe is literally just mixing three ingredients together, putting into a muffin tin, and waiting for it to harden. Unless you screw up the measurements, you can’t screw this one up! Fun for kids – if your kids like chocolate, they’ll love this chocolate nest recipe. The nest itself has a really yummy flavor PLUS a fun crunch when you bite into it! No-bake – this is a no-bake recipe, which means these are also great for the kids help make!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Cocoa Rice Krispies – if you can find Cocoa Rice Krispies, they’re the best, but if you can’t find them, Cocoa Pebbles cereal works great too. That’s what I used in my video! Peanut butter – make sure your peanut butter is creamy AND that it’s not the all-natural kind where the liquid tends to separate from the actual peanut butter. You want it to combine well with the chocolate chips and it won’t with the all-natural kind. Milk chocolate chips – you can use milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips if you want these a bit less sweet. You could also use chocolate melting wafers if you have those, but I don’t recommend almond bark or candy melts in this particular recipe.
How to make chocolate nests
Okay I already told that these are about as easy as recipes come but now it’s time to really convince you. Ready for this four step recipe? Here we go! Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick spray. You could also use a silicone muffin tin or silicone cupcake liners, but I still like to spray just to make sure they come out cleanly. Once your muffin tins are ready, melt the chocolate chips in a large bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir then repeat, continuing at 30 minute intervals until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour the cereal into a large bowl. You want to make sure the bowl is at least half empty once you’ve added all of the cereal, so I recommend one that is at least a 6 cup bowl. This will help keep all of the cereal in when you’re stirring. Add the melted chocolate and peanut butter to the cereal. Fold the chocolate and peanut butter in until all of the cereal is well coated. This mixture will be sticky and that’s totally okay!
Fill each muffin tin with the coated cereal, making sure that they are all the way full and that the cereal is spread out to the sides.
Use a round tablespoon measuring spoon to create an indentation in each to create the center part of the nest.
Place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer until the chocolate is completely set. I’ve found this takes around an hour – if you try to take them out early, you’ll notice that the nests move around quite a bit and that’s not what you want.
Remove the cupcakes carefully from the mini tins by sliding a small silicone spatula under one edge and popping them out onto a piece of parchment paper or a plate so they don’t stick.
Finish by placing three Cadbury mini eggs in each nest. If you don’t have Cadbury mini eggs, you could use any sort of chocolate eggs, jelly beans, or even Peeps!
Expert Tips
Make these mini! Try these in mini muffin tins with smaller jelly beans if you want mini sized eggs. The only change would be to use a teaspoon measuring spoon instead of a tablespoon when making the indentations! Mini ones also be fun to add on top of your favorite cupcakes (like these lemon cupcakes!). Let the nests chill longer than you think you need to. Chocolate chips and peanut butter don’t harden as quickly as say the candy melts on these Oreo Easter egg truffles. I like to give them at least an hour, if not longer. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to five days before throwing away any leftovers. If you don’t think you’ll use them all right away, I recommend not adding the eggs until you’re about to serve.
More Easy Easter Recipes
Strawberry fluff – a classic Easter side dish that’s part salad, part dessert!Carrot cake with cinnamon frosting – a classic Easter dessert that’s both beautiful and delicious! Honey roasted carrots – carrots roasted with a little honey and fruit juice for a flavorful side dish to add to any Easter menu! Homemade crescent rolls – these soft, fluffy, and delicious crescent rolls are the perfect addition to your holiday ham! Kool-aid pie – mini no-bake pies that use just a few ingredients for a delicious treat!
