Coconut Nests with Chocolate Candy Eggs

It all started with a conversation about which candy coated chocolate mini eggs are the best. This was happening during a gym workout with my small class of ladies – you would like my gym. We work out hard and talk about food A Lot. Mary was extolling the virtues of Cadbury Easter Candy Coated Mini Eggs and others were in agreement. Apparently I was missing something. I went out to buy a bag, which wasn’t easy. Stop & Shop supermarket was sold out; I guess I was late to the party, but I did snag some at CVS the drugstore. To validate such a purchase I told myself I would build a recipe around them and therefore not only be able to justify the purchase, but I could write off the bag of candy and make the world a sweeter place. Things didn’t work out as planned.

 I immediately thought about coconut “nests” to hold the eggs. I was most of the way there as my Coconut Snowballs from A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies are truly fabulous. They combine unsweetened and sweetened coconut, which I find is needed for the perfect flavor and texture profile. The sweetened long shred coconut provides sweetness and a great chewy texture, while the addition of part unsweetened tempers the over-the-top sweetness that some coconut macaroons suffer from. I whipped up a batch, pressed three eggs in the top of each “nest” and popped them in the oven. As you can see in the picture, the eggs cracked – not what I was hoping for or expected. I brought them to the gym ladies, apologizing for the “failure”. I was surprised by the collective reaction….everyone thought they were adorable and that the cracks were on purpose! They thought the cracks were evocative of Spring – new life, re-birth and all that. Hmmm, I’m not completely sold but figured, hey, maybe they are worth a post and a recipe. They are certainly tasty. BTW, pressing the eggs into the nests does not work after baking (I tried). So if you can embrace the site of broken shells, these just might bring something a little different to your Easter holiday. Enjoy! Follow the recipe for Coconut Snowballs, add 2 bags of the eggs to your shopping list (you need about 50 eggs total) and simply press 3 eggs into the nests before following baking instructions.