Bird's Nest Desserts

As we all know, I am a sucker for dessert and these two recipes are heavenly! Plus, they will look adorable for your Easter celebrations. Who doesn’t love a pretty dessert?
Bird’s Nest Mini Cheesecakes-Adapted from brightideas.com

Prep Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: 25 min.
Yield: Makes 24 mini cheesecakes.
Ingredients:
24 chocolate or vanilla reduced fat wafer cookies
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, reduced fat
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup sour cream, fat free
1 1/2 cups chopped SNICKERS® Bars
½ cup flaked coconut
Green food coloring
2 cups M&M’S® Brand Speckled Chocolate Eggs
Mini muffin tin
Mini muffin paper liners
Directions:
1. Line muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Place one wafer cookie in the bottom of each cup, set aside.
2. Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla and almond extracts until smooth. Slowly add eggs and sour cream, mix until creamy. Stir in chopped SNICKERS® Bars.
3. Spoon mixture into muffin cups and bake in a preheated 375ºF oven until set, about 25 minutes. Cool completely and refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve:
4a. Combine coconut with a few drops of food coloring to desired shade of green.
or
4b. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut on non-greased cookie sheet. Toast in oven, stirring every five minutes, until it turns light golden, about 20 minutes. Remove coconut from cookie sheet and set aside.
5. Arrange on top of cheesecakes to resemble a nest. Fill nests with M&M’S® Brand Speckled Chocolate Eggs. Serve at room temperature.

Bird's Nest Cookies-
 Adapted from M&M's Recipes



Ingredients:
1 bag M&M'S® Brand Milk Candies for Easter

2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

green Betty Crocker cupcake icing
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut on non-greased cookie sheet. Toast in oven, stirring every five minutes, until it turns light golden, about 20 minutes. Remove coconut from cookie sheet and set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. In large bowl, add butter and sugar and whip until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Form dough into 1-1/4-inch balls. Roll heavily into toasted coconut. Place coconut cookies 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Make indentation with thumb in center of each cookie. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies and cool completely (if your indentation is no longer visible, just use the back of a spoon to recreate it while the cookies are still warm). Coat indentations with some of the green icing (this will secure the M&M's and it looks like grass) and fill with M&M's.

I also have an addiction to cupcakes. The same toppings could be added to your favorite cupcakes to make bird's nest cupcakes. Carrot cake is always a crowd pleaser at our house. :) Happy Monday!