These crisp chocolate shortbread nests are filled with ganache and pretty blue eggs, a perfect treat to place by each plate on your Easter table.
You’ll be surprised by how easy and fun these are to make—a great project for the whole family. They’re a little fragile after they’ve been baked, so if your littles are . . . well . . . little, you may want to supervise the filling and egg placement. To make the process even easier, you can always use canned frosting instead of making ganache.
| Chocolate Shortbread Bird Nests | Print |
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tablespoons coffee or milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cornstarch
- GANACHE:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used mini-chips)
- Small candy eggs
- In a large bowl (a stand mixture is recommended) beat the butter, shortening, and powdered sugar together until creamy.
- Add egg yolk and coffee (or milk) and mix well.
- Add flour, cocoa powder, salt, and cornstarch. Beat well. Be patient - it may take a few minutes before the mixture comes together.
- Divide into two parts and chill for 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- Lightly spray mini cupcake pan with baking spray (an oil/flour mixture).
- On floured surface roll half of the dough out approximately ⅛-inch thick. To keep the cookies similar in size, cut out 3-inch rounds (or squares). Using a thin spatula or bench scraper, chop one piece into thin strips. Lift the strips into a cavity of prepared pan, loosely surrounding the sides. Leave a few stray pieces sticking out of the top. Place a scrap of dough into the bottom of the cup if needed and press gently. Repeat with all of the remaining dough.
- Bake approximately 8-9 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for several minutes, then gently lift each out of the pan and place on a cooling rack. Once cooled the cookies should be fairly crisp. If not, add another minute to the remaining cookies.
- GANACHE: Heat heavy cream until it's steamy. Remove from heat, add chocolate and let it sit for 3-4 minutes. Stir well.
- Add a dollop of ganache to the bottom of each nest and decorate with small candy eggs.
Chop fine strips to create nesting material.
Loosely arrange shortbread strips in prepared cups. Bake!
Hint: Once they’ve cooled a bit, try putting something lightweight but stiff (cardboard, a flexible cutting board, etc.) over the top and then flipping the whole works over. It’s easier than lifting each one out of the pan.
So simple. Even the ganache is easy to make. Hope you’ll try this!
Lorinda