This recipe didn't start out organic. I first saw it 27 or so years ago, when my babysitter made it with my oldest daughter. It was her favorite Easter candy, and it's become a tradition among my girls to make it with Gigi, the awesomest babysitter of all time, who has been with me for 28 years.
Gigi first made the recipe after seeing these candies in the supermarket (she thinks it might have been a Russell Stover candy) and realizing she could make them herself for less money. Actually, Russell Stover still sells them! But of course, theirs are not organic. Now, 28 years later, organic versions of all the ingredients are easily found. Which wasn't true for many of those years! Now you can make them yourself, and enjoy them without worrying about toxic chemicals poisoning you or your kids under the guise of Easter candy.
The recipe is super-easy. If you like chocolate, coconut, and jelly beans, this recipe is for you.
Candy Nests
Ingredients:
1 9-ounce bag of organic chocolate chips (I use Sunspire Fair Trade organic, yum!)
1 cup (or more or less, depending on your love of coconut) organic coconut
Organic jelly beans (which I was able to find at my local health food store, Healthy Alternatives)
Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove (or put them in a heatproof measuring cup, and set that in a saucepan filled with some water). Or you can microwave them for a minute or two.
2. Add the coconut to taste, and stir together with the chocolate.
3. Take a cookie sheet and cover it with parchment paper. Using a spoon, put a dollop of chocolate-coconut mixture on the parchment.
4. Add three jelly beans in the middle and press them down...like eggs in a nest!
Put in the fridge until they are "set."
Enjoy these to eat yourself; your kids will love them too. I think my kids love making these with Gigi just as much as they like eating them. That's the best Easter gift of all.
Related Links:
Curry Chicken from Scratch - Maria's Farm Country Kitchen
Live Peeps, Can You Handle Them? - Rodale.com
Vertical Gardening - Organic Gardening
For more from Maria Rodale, go to www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com.