Make these adorable little Easter nests with melted chocolate and chow mein noodles, and then fill with colorful Easter candies. I used semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate to make two varieties, with a sprinkling of nonpareils on the white chocolate to make them more colorful. You could also substitute other flavored chips such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, butterscotch, or peanut butter chips in place of the semi-sweet or white chocolate. These are so easy to make and you don’t need to be exact on the measurements; just add more chocolate and noodles to make a few more, or decrease the ingredients to make a few less.

Easter Nests

Ingredients:

Chocolate Nests:

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

2½ to 3 cups chow mein noodles.

Jelly beans or Easter candies.

Or,

White Chocolate Nests:

8 ounces white chocolate

2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

2½ to 3 cups chow mein noodles

Nonpareils for decorating (optional)

Jelly beans or Easter candies

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
   
   
2. Place chow mein noodles in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
   
   
3. In top of a double boiler over hot water, melt chocolate and shortening; stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to combine. See Melting Chocolate - How to Melt Chocolate.
   

Tip: Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bringing it to a simmer. Turn the heat off and place a glass bowl, stainless steel bowl, or ceramic bowl on top of the hot water; the upper pan should not touch the water.

4. Pour melted chocolate over the chow mein noodles, stir with a wooden spoon until the noodles are coated.
   
   
5. Spoon ¼ cupfuls of mixture onto wax paper. Shape by hand into round nest shapes with an indentation in the middle to hold the candies.
   
   
6. Let the nests sit until the chocolate has hardened.
   
   
7. Place 3 jelly beans or Easter candies in each nest.
   
   Makes about 8 to 10 nests
   
   TheBakingPan.com
   ___________________________________________________