Easter Birds Nest Cookies – Chocolate and Almond

 Egg-free and Butter-free Recipe

If you think you’ll find hen’s eggs in these nests, think again! There are only small sugar eggs. The dough is egg-free and butter-free. My 10-year-old daughter had fun filling the nests. 🐣

 

 

 

A few hours before starting the recipe, refrigerate the almond paste so that it hardens slightly for grating (step 3).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

Step 1 : Prepare the Dough

1. In a bowl, mix together the yogurt, oil, and baking powder. Add the almond powder, vanilla sugar, and all-purpose flour.
   Knead quickly until you obtain a dough ball.
2. Take a small amount of dough, flatten it with the palm of your hands, and place it in a tartlet mold, preferably silicone.
3. Press firmly on the inside to make the dough adhere to the mold.

Step 2 : Baking

1. Place a square of dark chocolate in the center of each tartlet.
2. Bake in the oven at Celsius 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees), on the second rack level, for 20 minutes (for a convection oven).

Step 3 : Nest filling

1. Remove the tartlets from the oven as soon as they finish baking and crush the chocolate square with a fork to distribute it at the bottom of the nest.
2. Using a grater with medium-sized holes, grate the white almond paste.
3. Once the nests have cooled, fill them with the grated almond paste and place 3 small candy eggs in the center.

Enjoy easter birds nest cookies and happy Easter !

Gisou’s Tips and Tricks

Spelt grains, also known as dinkel wheat, is an ancient wheat variety that has been cultivated since 8 000 BC. It comes in two varieties. One is the white spelt flour which has the bran and germ removed, while the other kind is whole spelt flour, which is similar to whole wheat flour in that it has the germ and bran intact.