TAKING THE EASY ROAD

I might aspire to fun and fancy foods, but when it comes down to the bottom line, I always choose the easy way.  So when I had a hankering to make a "nest with cute egg" dessert for Easter, the only choices I found just sounded a le-e-e-tle bit too difficult or time-consuming.

So I adapted a recipe I already had in my box!  Known as Mud Cookies, Wax Paper Cookies, and No- Bake Cookies, these make excellent gluten-free bird nests.

WAX PAPER COOKIES

3/4 C. sugar
2 T. baking cocoa
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C. peanut butter
2 C. uncooked gluten-free oats

candy that looks like small bird eggs, such as jelly beans (malted bird eggs are NOT GF)


1.  Decide what type of pan you will use.  Tiny muffin tins make small nests, but you can also place wax paper onto a cookie sheet and just shape the nests with a spoon.  You can see in the photo that I tried it both ways--the muffin tins are toward the front and the hand-shaped are toward the back.

2.  Combine the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan.  Stir to a boil over medium heat and boil for 1 minute.

3.  Stirring constantly, add the next 3 ingredients.

4.  Quickly drop the cookies with a teaspoon into tiny muffin tins or onto wax paper.  Place a candy egg onto each one.

5.  Put the pans into the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to help them harden well; then you can remove them and display how you wish.