This bird nest cookies recipe is the perfect bake for Easter. A cookie cup filled with chocolate ganache and topped with mini eggs. Great fun for kids and using cookie dough to make Easter nests is the best way to enjoy them. Add a scoop of ice cream to turn these Easter cookie cups into a delicious Easter dessert.
Bird Nest Cookies Top Questions
What is an edible bird’s nest made of?
What can you add to cookie Easter nests?
How long do Easter cookies last?
What baked good is an Easter tradition in England?
What can you bake with children at Easter?
Can you reheat bird nest cookies?
Why you’ll love this bird nest cookies recipe
- Cookie Easter nests make for perfect lunchtime treats during the Easter holidays! They are so tasty and the little ones love getting their fingers sticky in them!
- This bird nest cookies recipe is so easy to follow and baking the cookies in a cupcake tin makes shaping them so much easier! You only need a handful of ingredients to make Easter cookie cups.
- They are topped with mini eggs. Need I say more?
Bird Nest Cookies Ingredients
For the full cookie easter nests recipe and instructions scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card.
Cookie Dough
For ease, I like using pre-made cookie dough for these Easter cookie cups. I love making my recipes as simple as possible and having the pre-made cookie dough cuts down the prep time for this bird nest cookies recipe.
You can of course make your own cookies if you have the time.
Mini Eggs
The best Easter chocolate in my humble opinion are Mini Eggs. Using colourful mini eggs is a great way to decorate the cookie easter nests, making them look like little bird nest cookies. I love the crunch mini egg shell mix with the soft, smooth ganache.
Chocolate
For your creamy chocolate ganache, you’ll need about 75g of chocolate, I used milk chocolate this time but dark chocolate would also be delicious. In the past, I’ve used melted Easter eggs for this step rather than buying more chocolate at this time of year.
Cream
Double cream for the ganache, with melted butter, is perfect for making the ganache thick and creamy. Any brand of cream will work, I’ve always used he supermarket’s own brand as it’s the cheapest and does the job.
How to make my bird nest cookies recipe – step by step
For the full recipe and instructions scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card.
- Ball together your cookie dough into equal sizes and then press them into the cupcake tin. Lining your cupcake tin with squares of parchment paper will help stop them from sticking.
- Bake your cookies until golden brown but still soft. They will continue cookie after you take them out the oven.
- Whilst they cook and cool, heat up some cream on low heat in a pan.
- Add your butter and chocolate and stir until it has fully melted into the cream. Keep stirring even after you’ve turned the heat off so it doesn’t thicken too quickly.
- Gently spoon your ganache mixture into the cooled cookie nests.
- Press the mini eggs into your cookie bird nests. I usually use 3 mini eggs but this will depend on the size of your cookie cups.
Top Tips for making cookie easter nests
- Line your baking tin with a small square of greaseproof paper to stop your cookie cups from sticking whilst they bake. If you don’t have any, a cupcake will work too and will look nice too!
- Take your cookie dough easter nests out of the oven while they are still a little undercooked. This is because they will continue to cook once you’ve removed them from the oven and we don’t want cookie cups that are too hard.
- Save yourself a mini egg or two for ‘quality control’ when decorating. This is a vital step in the recipe and cannot be underestimated.
Bird Nest Cookies Serving Suggestions
The Easter cookie cups make for excellent snacks. They are just small enough to satisfy you without becoming sickly or too filling.
I would serve the cookie dough Easter nests at a picnic, as an afternoon snack or as part of your Easter egg hunt.
If you want to turn them into a dessert then warm them in a microwave or air fryer until warm. then add a scoop of ice cream. Absolutely delicious.
Equipment
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- Kitchen Scales
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- spoon
- saucepan
- silicone spoon
- 12 hole cupcake tin / fairy cake tin
- greaseproof paper / baking parchment
Substitutions and variations
White chocolate
Instead of using the melted milk chocolate in the Easter cookie nests, you could use your favourite white chocolate in the ganache. It’s sweet, and creamy and pairs perfectly with the mini eggs.
Dark chocolate
If you’re not a fan of milk or white chocolate, a rich creamy dark chocolate takes these cookie dough easter nests to the next level. Elegant Easter nests for adults.
Sprinkles
Out mini eggs? Try decorating the ganache while it’s still not fully set with pretty sprinkles! I love using the pastel coloured ones but you could use stars, little hearts or a mix of all of them!
Easter candy
To really ramp up these Easter cookies melt Easter eggs into the ganache and use other Easter candy to decorate the top. Try chocolate bunnies, creme eggs and other Easter chocolate.
If you love making Easter nests, make sure you try my Flapjack Easter Nests.
Storing cookie easter nests/ Making ahead of time options
Your Easter cookie nests can be made in advance and then baked when you need them. Cookie dough can be frozen if you make it by hand, freeze it in the cookie balls so you always have bite sized cookie snacks on hand.
If using pre-made cookie dough, these cookie nests can be whipped up super quickly so you won’t need to make them too far in advance even if you’re busy.
Want to make these even quicker? Then check out my cheats cookie nests recipe.
FAQS
What is an edible bird’s nest made of?
Edible birds nest are either made from shaped cookies or from Rice Krispie treats. I love making cookie-edible bird nests at Easter as they are delicious and can be filled with Easter chocolate!
This recipe is a great way to use up leftover Easter chocolate.
What can you add to cookie Easter nests?
You can any of your favourite Easter chocolate to the cookie easter nests, I adored adding mini eggs to mine as they look super cute. However you could add any little Easter chocolates like creme eggs, sprinkles or even chocolate bunnies or chicks.
How long do Easter cookies last?
Easter cookies will last for up to 5 days if kept somewhere cool and in an air-tight container.
What baked good is an Easter tradition in England?
At Easter in England the most common baked you’ll find is the humble hot cross bun. A sweet English bread, spiced and packed with raisins and topped with a flour paste cross. They are served toasted with a little butter.
What can you bake with children at Easter?
At Easter, there are lots of things you can bake together. You could make the cheats Easter cookies; a white chocolate Easter cake, Easter Piñata Cake or some mini egg cookies. If you’re as much of a fan of mini eggs as me you can make the giant mini egg cookie, mini egg cheesecakes or mini egg blondies
Can you reheat bird nest cookies?
They will eventually go a little hard after a few days, but you can warm the these bird nest cookies up in the microwave for 20 second bursts and they will soften again.
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Bird Nest Cookies Recipe
Bird Nest Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Spoon
Ingredients
Cookie Cup
- 300 g (1.27 cups) cookie dough (ready made)
Or Make your own cookie dough
- 90 g (3.17 oz) unsalted butter
- 75 g (2.65 oz) light brown soft sugar
- 25 g (0.88 oz) caster sugar
- 1 medium (1 medium) egg
- 0.5 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 125 g (1 cups) plain flour
- 0.5 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- small pinch (small pinch) salt
- 50 g (1.76 oz) chocolate chips
Chocolate Ganache
- 60 ml (60 ml) double cream / heavy cream
- 75 grams (2.65 oz) milk chocolate (you can use dark chocolate too. Or even a mix of dark and milk.)
- 10 g (0.35 oz) unsalted butter
Decorations
- 150 g (5.29 oz) mini eggs
Instructions
Making the cookie dough
- Cream together the 90g butter, 75g light brown soft sugar and the 25g caster sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the 1 medium egg with the 0.5 tsp vanilla extract.
- Sieve in the 125g plain flour with the 0.5 tsp baking powder and tiny pinch of salt.
- Mix in the chocolate chips and bring the mixture together as a dough.
- Wrap the cookie dough up and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Using the ready-made cookie dough
- Preheat the oven to 160ºC fan/ 175ºC / 320ºF.
- Whether you have made your dough or used ready-made remove the dough from the freezer for 15 minutes to soften slightly.
- Add a piece of baking parchment / greaseproof paper or cupcake cases to a fairy cake tin.
- Divide the cookie dough into 8 pieces.
- Gently work the dough into a disk shape that fits into the fairy cake to make a little bowl.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
- If the dough rises in the middle when baking then use a teaspoon to gently push it back into shape when you take it out of the oven.
- Allow to cool in the tin and then remove.
How to make the ganache cookie cup filling
- Break up the 150g milk chocolate pieces and add them to a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of butter.
- In a saucepan warm up the 125ml double cream until it starts to bubble. Do not let it boil. Keep stirring.
- Pour the cream over the top of the chocolate and butter.
- Leave it for 1 minute and then slowly mix together until everything is melted and mixed together.
Assembling the bird nest cookie pots
- Spoon the chocolate ganache into the cooled cookie nests. Leave them somewhere cool for 30 minutes to set otherwise the mini eggs or chocolates you add will sink a little.
- Add the mini eggs.
- Serve and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
The kids absolutely loved making them. We used store-bought dough as they won’t concentrate for long and they tasted fab. They loved them.
That is great to hear. Thank you for leaving a comment.
I love these for this my Easer snack table. What a great way to use cookie dough.
How far in advance can you make these?
Easily 1-2 days in advance. They last really well but make sure you keep them somewhere cool and in an air tight box.
A great Easter recipe. It was so easy for my children and me and it was so cute to see the finished ones.
Too cute. Too yum. Make a few batches as they don’t last long with kids about.