Whimsical and colorful, these peanut butter, butterscotch, no-bake Bird’s Nest Cookies are an adorable seasonal treat. Serve these at any Easter celebration or spring gathering.
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About these Bird’s Nest Cookies
Baking is about more than just making delicious treats — it’s about creating experiences that everyone remembers.
These Bird’s Nest Cookies unlock a core memory for me. My aunt made these with my cousin and me, then we decorated them with candy eggs for our family Easter celebration. To this day, I love making them every spring.
These cookies effortlessly simple: no baking required! No stovetop either — these are drop cookies that merely need a little microwave time, some stirring and some molding into a nest shape.
For the eggs, you can use pastel-colored M&M’s, Cadbury mini eggs or any candy that looks like sweet little birds’ eggs. I like wrapping them up in cellophane bags with a little paper grass and a pretty ribbon. They taste amazing and make a lovely gift for neighbors, teachers, family and friends, especially tucked into an Easter basket.
More Easter recipes: Peeps Vodka • Chocolate Bunny Cocktails • Easter Bark
Why you’ll love this recipe
- No need to turn on the oven! These cookies come together quickly with just a few ingredients.
- Festive and fun, their cute nest shape makes them perfect for Easter, spring celebrations, and kid-friendly baking projects. Add candy eggs for an adorable finishing touch.
- They’re delicious, sweet & crunchy: The mix of creamy butterscotch, peanut butter and crispy chow mein noodles creates an irresistible sweet-salty combination with a satisfying crunch.
Tools & equipment
You don’t need much to make these cookies! A microwave-safe bowl is key for melting the chips, or you can do it on the stovetop. Otherwise you’ll just need a mixing bowl *, spatula * and baking sheet * lined with wax paper, parchment or a silicone baking mat *.
A cookie scoop * is helpful, too, for getting equal helpings of the mixture to make similar size nests, then you can use the back of it to make the indentation in the middle for the nest-shape.
cookie essentials
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👇 For full measurements and step-by-step instructions, scroll down to the printable recipe card. It’s all there waiting for you!
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this easy Easter treat. Here’s what to grab at the grocery store:
- Butterscotch chips: You can find these with the chocolate chips in the baking aisle.
- Creamy peanut butter: You could use chunky peanut butter and skip the peanuts if you wanted.
- Chow mein noodles: These come in a can of dried noodles — I used La Choy brand.
- Salted peanuts: I like the extra salt these bring, but you could use unsalted peanuts too!
- Round candies: These are your candy “eggs.” I used pastel-colored, Easter M&M’s, but you could also use Mini Cadbury Eggs. There are more ideas below!
The best candy eggs
To finish off these bird’s nest cookies, you’ll need a few candies to use as “eggs” to make thee a true Easter dessert. Otherwise, they’re just haystack cookies! Here are some ideas:
- Plain M&M’s (ideally in pastel colors)
- Peanut M&M’s (or Almond)
- Peanut Butter M&M’s
- Cadbury Mini Eggs
- Jelly beans
- Chocolate-covered almonds
- Chocolate-covered espresso beans
- Yogurt-covered raisins
Instructions
Making Bird’s Nest Cookies is easy — here’s what to do:
- Line two baking sheets with wax paper and set aside.
- Microwave butterscotch morsels in a large microwave-safe bowl on medium power for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 15- second intervals, stirring until just melted. Stir in peanut butter.
- Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts until all ingredients are evenly distributed and evenly coated.
- Drop rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets. Cookies should be 3 to 4 inches wide. Use the back of a spoon or cookie scoop * to create a depression to make the nest shape.
- Refrigerate until hardened. Place 3 to 5 round- or egg-shaped candy pieces in each nest before serving.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to one week. If desired, bag them in cellophane bags for gifts.
Tips & tricks
Avoid common mistakes and get the best results with these tips:
- Butterscotch chips can scorch easily, so microwave in short intervals and stir frequently to ensure smooth melting.
- Use a spoon or cookie scoop to form nests while the mixture is still soft. If it hardens too quickly, briefly warm it again to reshape.
- Refrigerate the cookies to help them set faster and hold their shape, but let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving for the best texture.
FAQ
Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to one week. If your kitchen is warm, keep them in the refrigerator to prevent melting. Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.
Absolutely! Simply omit the peanuts and use sunflower butter or another nut-free spread instead of peanut butter. You can also add extra chow mein noodles or pretzel sticks for crunch.
More spring desserts
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Birds Nest Cookies
ingredients
- 11 ounces butterscotch chips about 1 ⅔ cup
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 5 ounces chow mein noodles
- 1 cup salted peanuts
- ½ cup M&M’S® Milk Chocolate or M&M’S® White Chocolate
instructions
- Line 2 baking sheets with wax paper.
- Microwave butterscotch morsels in a large microwave-safe bowl on medium power for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 15- second intervals, stirring until just melted. Stir in peanut butter.
- Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts until all ingredients are evenly distributed and evenly coated.
- Drop rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets. Cookies should be 3-4 inches wide. Use the back of a spoon to create a depression to make the nest shape.
- Refrigerate until hardened. Place 3-5 M&M’S® Milk Chocolate or M&M’S® White Chocolate pieces in each nest before serving.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to one week.
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Kelly says
These are just too cute. I love that you used peanut butter for the nests! #client
Becca @ Two Places at Once says
We have to move this summer and I’m super nervous about our cat adjusting to a new city/apartment! Glad to hear Pixel is adjusting despite the finches.
Susannah says
Thankfully I didn’t move far, so it wasn’t a huge stress! She is definitely adjusting just fine though. I hope your move goes swimmingly and that your kitties adjust quickly!