Chocolate, coconut, and almond butter make for the perfect No-Bake Easter Egg Nest Cookies! They're just right for kids who like to help in the kitchen, too. Use anything you'd like for the "eggs" and enjoy this very sweet tweet!
To say my kids are excited about these Easter Egg Nest Cookie is a massive understatement! We don't celebrate Easter, but we love learning about other traditions and hearing how other families celebrate each season. As far as we're concerned, anything with chocolate and coconut is a reason to celebrate! I saw several different versions of this cookie around Instagram and just knew I needed to make a vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free version of my own. I am SO excited about these results and I hope you love them, too!
All About Coconut
Coconuts are cholesterol free, very low sodium and a really good source of dietary fiber. Plus, they add amazing texture and flavor to these cookies! Make sure to look for unsweetened raw shredded coconut. Sweetened coconut has lots of added ingredients and sugar!
Health Benefits of Cocoa
Years of nutrition research have shown that chocolate isn’t just junk food and may actually provide health benefits. With chocolate coming in so many different forms, it is difficult to know exactly what benefit we are getting. The health benefits of chocolate come from antioxidants called flavanols found in the cocoa solids (as opposed to the cocoa butter) that you'll see on many ingredient lists.
Like most foods, eating the least processed and most pure form is the healthiest. When you start to dilute the food with added sugar and unhealthy fats, the overall health of the food is reduced. Use the highest quality cocoa powder you can find for these Easter Egg Nest Cookies! Dark chocolate provides calcium, magnesium and potassium. Compared with milk chocolate, you are getting more cacao solids and thus more flavanols. Flavanols provide a dark pigment, so visually you can look for darker color for more nutritional benefits.
All About Almond Butter
I love making my Homemade Raw Creamy Almond Butter! It's so simple, has just a couple ingredients, and tastes incredible. Almonds are low in carbohydrates and high in protein. They offer a good source of fiber, healthy fats, vitamin E and magnesium. They also provide iron and calcium!
Almond Butter Substitutes
Any nut butter that you enjoy would be delicious in this recipe, and if you're avoiding nuts, go with sunflower butter, tahini or pumpkin butter! Whatever nut or seed butter you use, make sure it's runny and not hard. The oils should be well incorporated! You can store your nut butters upside down to make stirring a breeze.
Refined Sugar-Free Easter Egg Cookies
If you don't want to use store-bought Cadbury eggs and are looking for a refined sugar-free, vegan option, there are so many ways to make the "eggs" in these yummy nest cookies! A few ideas:
- Blueberries
- Macadamia nuts
- Peeled hazelnuts
- Marcona almonds
These Easter Egg Nest Cookies are vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and can be made nut-free and refined sugar-free as well! If you make them this weekend, I hope you'll share and tag me on Instagram. A review on this post is awesome, too!
More Vegan Homemade Candy Recipes
Copycat Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs
Easy Healthier Homemade Crunch Bars
Creamy Vegan Paleo Homemade Peppermint Patties
Homemade Almond Joy Bars
Homemade Vegan Chocolate
Vegan Almond Butter Cups
Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffles
Easy Homemade Hanukkah Gelt
The Best Chocolate Bark Recipe
Vegan Dark Chocolate Fudge Blizzard
Creamy Chocolate Fudgesicles
Vegan "Nutella" Fudge Pops
No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Birds' Nests for Easter
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 11 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Chocolate, coconut, and almond butter make for the perfect No-Bake Easter Egg Nest Cookies! They're just right for kids who like to help in the kitchen, too. Use anything you'd like for the "eggs" and enjoy this very sweet tweet!
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut (raw)
- 3 tablespoons raw creamy unsalted almond butter (or sub another nut or seed butter), runny not hard, oils mixed in well
- 2 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- 33 mini Cadbury dark chocolate eggs (not vegan), UNREAL Dark Chocolate & Crispy Quinoa Gems | Certified Vegan Fair Trade, Non-GMO, jelly beans (I like YumEarth brand), blueberries, Marcona almonds, peeled hazelnuts or macadamia nuts (the eggs used in the photos are vegan and can be found here)
Instructions
- In a large glass bowl combine coconut, almond butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Stir well.
- Use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the mixture onto a parchment lined half-sheet baking sheet. Gently form each mound of chocolate coconut mixture into a round nest shape. Don't pack it in or press it together too much or it won't look like a bird's nest. You want it rustic looking.
- Use your thumb or the back of the cookie scoop to make a small well in the center of each nest.
- Place 3 mini eggs in the center of each nest.
- Place in freezer to set for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
For a more authentic nest shape you can use a silicone muffin tin and shape the nests in there with a well in the center of each.
- Prep Time: 10
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezer
Keywords: Chocolate Coconut Nests
Kristin says
Loved this simple Easter treat! So tasty and my 6 year old loved creating all the nests and decorating them 🙂 will definitely be making these again!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, K! So happy to hear you all enjoyed this one so much. Happy belated Easter!