Bird Nest Easter Cookies

Coconut Caramel Easter Egg Nests made with coconut macaroons, salted caramel sauce, and chocolate candy eggs are the cutest little Easter desserts ever.

Why this recipe works so well:

Let me just start by saying how much my kids loved these little cookies. I mean, what's not to love about a cookie that looks like a bird nest. Not to mention the combination of coconut, caramel and chocolate is the best.

Plus, just one of these cookies with the sweetened coconut, ooey gooey salted caramel sauce, and divine little candy coated chocolate eggs is enough to satisfy any sweet tooth.

How fun would these be alongside some Robin's Egg Macarons?

Here's how to make them:

This is a two part recipe in that you will make the cookies and then the caramel sauce.

To make the cookies:

1. I started with a coconut macaroon recipe that I really love. The recipe uses sweetened flaked coconut, sugar, flour, baking powder, almond extract, salt, and egg whites that are beaten to soft peaks and then mixed in.
2. The dough is shaped into balls, slightly flattened into disks, and baked for about 10 minutes. At this point, you open up the oven and use a spoon to create the well in the center of the cookie and then continue baking them for another 5-10 minutes until they are golden brown.
3. The cookies need to fully cool for about 30 minutes.

To make the caramel sauce:

1. Sugar, corn syrup, and water are combined in a pan. The mixture will resemble wet sand.
2. You will heat the mixture over medium heat to dissolve the sugar and then increase the heat to bring it to a boil. Do not stir, only swirl, this boiling mixture and you can add more water around the sides of the pan to wash any sugar that is sticking to the side of the pan down. The water will eventually evaporate.
3. Once you start getting a rich brown color and it begins to smell like caramel corn, you will carefully pour the heavy cream into the pan and whisk it all together for about a minute.

To assemble the cookies:

1. You will pour the cooled caramel sauce into the well of the cooled cookie.
2. Then all you need to do is add a few of those candy coated chocolate eggs and you have a cute little bird nest cookie that's perfect for Easter!

Cooking tips for perfect results:

• Be sure to keep an eye on the macaroons while they are cooking. Coconut can go from golden brown to burnt very quickly.
• When making caramel sauce, be sure to use a pan that is large enough to handle all the bubbles.
• Do not leave the boiling sugar unattended. It can go from a rich golden brown to burnt very quickly.
• Do not add cold cream to the boiling sugar. You want it to be set out at room temperature. Even then, it will rapidly boil and bubble once added. Making caramel sauce is easy - you just need to be careful and know what to expect.
• Store the cookies in an air tight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

And there you have it: cute little delicious coconut caramel Easter egg nests.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!

Coconut Caramel Easter Egg Nests

Coconut Caramel Easter Egg Nests made with coconut macaroons, salted caramel sauce, and chocolate candy eggs are the cutest little Easter desserts ever.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Scale: 16 cookies

Recipe Created By: Krissy Allori

Ingredients

Coconut Macaroon Cookies:

• ▢ 14 ounces sweetened, flaked coconut
• ▢ ⅓ cup white sugar
• ▢ 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ▢ 1 pinch salt
• ▢ 3 egg whites (room temperature)

Salted Caramel Sauce:

• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon corn syrup
• ▢ ⅛ cup water (amount may vary)
• ▢ ½ cup heavy cream (room temperature)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (flake salt recommended, amount completely depends on taste)

Chocolate Candy Eggs:

• ▢ 50 chocolate mini eggs (Cadbury recommended, more eggs can be used if they fit)

Instructions

To make the cookies:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine blend coconut, sugar, flour, baking powder, almond extract, and salt until combined.
• Beat egg whites in a bowl of stand mixer until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into coconut mixture just until combined.
• Roll spoonfuls of coconut mixture between palms to golf ball size cookies and then flatten into a disk on the prepared baking sheet, leaving a couple inches space in between each cookie.
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, and then open the oven and use the back of a spoon to create a well in the cookie and reshape it into a nest. Continue cooking until coconut is slightly golden and toasted, about 5-10 more minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 30 minutes.

To make the caramel sauce:

• You want to use a medium to large sauce pot because the mixture boils pretty high. I used a 3 quart sauce pan and it worked perfectly.
• Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in pan. You want mixture to resemble wet sand. You can add more water if you wish, the process will just take longer because you basically cook the sugar until the water evaporates.
• Set the heat to medium to dissolve the sugar, then increase the heat to high to boil it. Do not stir, but you may give the pot a gentle swirl as it boils. Cook until melted sugar has turned a bit brown in color and smells like caramel corn, but do not allow it to burn. If you aren't sure because you're cooking with a dark pan, you can dip a white spatula in to see color, but just dip a little because the sugar will harden and won't drip off the spoon back into the pan. This may take 5-15 minutes.
• Once sugar is ready, very slowly pour in the heavy cream, whisking while you pour. Once all the cream has been added, cook for about a minute before removing from heat.
• This caramel sauce tastes amazing with salt, especially if you use flaked, but start slowly and add according to taste. You can also hold off on adding salt until you serve.

To assemble the cookies:

• Fill each well with caramel sauce and top with 3-4 candy coated chocolate eggs.

Notes

Recipe makes about 16 cookies but quantity will depend on how big you shape them.

Cooking tips for perfect results:

• Be sure to keep an eye on the macaroons while they are cooking. Coconut can go from golden brown to burnt very quickly.
• When making caramel sauce, be sure to use a pan that is large enough to handle all the bubbles.
• Do not leave the boiling sugar unattended. It can go from a rich golden brown to burnt very quickly.
• Do not add cold cream to the boiling sugar. You want it to be set out at room temperature. Even then, it will rapidly boil and bubble once added. Making caramel sauce is easy - you just need to be careful and know what to expect.
• Store the cookies in an air tight container in the refrigerator or at room temperature. 

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 178mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 116IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

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This recipe was originally published in March 2015 and has been updated with more helpful information and cooking tips. Don't worry - I didn't change the recipe at all.