For Easter, make these easy no-bake Birds Nest Cookies, filled with chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs! You only need 5 simple ingredients to make these tasty treats, and everyone loves them.
Haystack cookies or bird’s nest cookies can be made for any occasion or holiday, but they work especially well for Easter when you can turn them into bird’s nests to hold chocolate eggs!
Cadbury Mini Eggs are an Easter favorite and nestle in perfectly with chocolate and peanut butter-coated crispy chow mein noodles to make these easy no-bake cookies that everyone will love snacking on.
For Christmastime, try making green Christmas Haystacks with holiday sprinkles, and in the fall, try my Halloween Haystacks instead. For any occasion, make Butterscotch Haystacks!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- No-Bake Treat: Bird’s Nest Cookies are a classic no-bake cookie recipe that you can make in the microwave. You don’t need your oven or stovetop at all!
- Classic and Nostalgic: Chocolate and peanut butter-coated crispy Chinese noodles have been a favorite treat for as long as I can remember. They are a welcome addition to any Easter dessert spread.
- Simple Ingredients: Grab a bag of Cadbury mini eggs, some crunchy chow mein noodles, and a few other common ingredients, and you’ll be ready to make these fun and easy Easter cookies.
Use any extra Cadbury eggs to make Easter Basket Cookie Cups or Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies!
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Bird’s Nest Cookies:
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- Chow Mein Noodles: These crunchy wheat noodles are found in the Asian section of the grocery store. Look for plain, unflavored ones. The most popular brand is LaChoy.
- Chocolate Chips: I like to use milk chocolate chips in this recipe so that the cookies are perfectly sweet.
- Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter works best, as does regular (not all-natural) peanut butter.
- Vegetable Oil
- Mini Cadbury Eggs to fill the nests.
How To Make Birds Nest Cookies
- Melt Chocolate and Peanut Butter: Add milk chocolate chips to a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and return to the microwave to heat in 30-second bursts (still on 50% power), stirring in between, until the chocolate is silky smooth. Then stir in the peanut butter until fully combined.
- Add the Noodles: Fold in the chow main noodles with a silicone spatula and mix gently until evenly coated.
- Make Nests: Use a large spoon to drop the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you like, use the spoon to create an indentation in the center of each.
- Fill: Make one nest at a time, first dropping down the chocolate-coated noodles, then filling each with 3 chocolate eggs. Once you’ve made all the cookies, place the tray into the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the cookies have hardened.
Top Tips
- Don’t use crunchy peanut butter. In crunchy peanut butter, the nuts make it so there is less actual peanut butter, and we need the peanut butter to make the coating. Creamy peanut butter works best.
- If you don’t have Cadbury mini eggs, try this recipe with M&M eggs or Robin’s eggs. You can also use jelly beans.
- Try it with butterscotch! Instead of using all chocolate chips, use half chocolate and half butterscotch baking chips.
- Milk chocolate chips can be replaced with semi-sweet chips or milk or dark chocolate candy wafers.
- Instead of chow mein noodles, these can be made with small pretzel sticks, shoestring potato chips, or crispy cereal. You can also combine two of these things to create a whole new texture!
- Additions, like chopped nuts, raisins, or mini chocolate chips can be added too.
- You can get as precise as you like with the nests. Feel free to arrange the noodles to create realistic-looking nests, or just pile them up to make things easier. The cookies are cute and tasty either way.
- Add Decorations. Easter sprinkles would be a nice touch here!
How to Store Birds Nest Cookies
Store bird’s nest cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can keep them at room temperature, but can also refrigerate them, and you should if it’s particularly warm in your kitchen.
You can also freeze bird’s nest cookies. Keep them in a freezer bag or container for 1-2 months.
Other Easter Desserts You Should Try
- Chocolate Easter Nest Cake
- Easter Sugar Cookie Bars
- Peeps Rice Krispie Treats
- Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies
- Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
FAQs
You can use other coated chocolate eggs in place of the mini eggs in this cookie recipe. M&Ms Easter eggs are a good option or try regular or peanut M&Ms.
Follow the process for making these nest cookies, but instead of the chocolate and peanut butter coating, check out how I make Butterscotch Haystacks and use that coating instead!
You can replace the peanut butter with almond butter or your favorite nut butter. You can also leave it out altogether, and replace the peanut butter with the same amount of chocolate chips.
These sweet and crunchy Birds Nest Cookies are so simple to make, and will be a huge hit at your Easter parties! Make sure to Pin the recipe for later, so you can share it with everyone who asks for it.
Birds Nest Cookies
Equipment
- Parchment paper
- Glass Mixing Bowl or other microwave-safe bowl
Ingredients
- 11 ounces (2 cups) milk chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 3 cups chow mein noodles
- 36 Mini Cadbury eggs
Instructions
- Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add milk chocolate chips and vegetable oil to a large microwave safe bowl.
- Heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and return to the microwave to heat in 30-second bursts (still on 50% power), stirring in between, until the chocolate is silky smooth.
- Add in peanut butter and mix until fully combined.
- Fold in chow mein noodles and mix gently until the noodles are evenly coated with chocolate. You may want to use a rubber spatula.
- Use a large spoon, to spoon out mixture onto the baking sheet. This mixture should be 3-4 inches. You can also use the spoon to carve out a small, flat crater in the center of the mixture for the eggs.
- Immediately top the nests with 3 cadbury eggs, centered in the middle of the nest. Be sure they are firmly planted into the melted chocolate.
- Work one nest at a time until your entire sheet is full or until the mixture is completely used.
- Place the baking sheet inside the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t have Cadbury mini eggs, try this recipe with M&Ms eggs or Robin’s eggs. You can also use Jelly Beans.
- Try it with butterscotch! Instead of using all chocolate chips, use half chocolate and half butterscotch baking chips.
- Milk chocolate chips can be replaced with semi-sweet chips or milk or dark chocolate candy wafers.
- Store bird’s nest cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can keep them at room temperature, but can also refrigerate them, and you should if it’s particularly warm in your kitchen. You can also freeze bird’s nest cookies. Keep them in a freezer bag or container for 1-2 months.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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