Robin's Nest Treats

It probably comes as a surprise to no one that the kids and I decided to make treats for the holiday over the weekend. (We kind of have a history of doing that.) I mean, who doesn't love some messy fun in the kitchen to celebrate a holiday?

This is another one where I can't take credit for the idea (saw it online, of course.) But I can still take partial credit for how adorable my kids are, so it seemed worthy of sharing. And I figured out some helpful tips of my own, so I'll share those too. (Anything to make your lives easier, should you decide to make these yourselves.)

This is a 3-ingredient recipe. (I love the simple ones.) Chow mein noodles, butterscotch chips (or some people use peanut butter) and Robin Eggs candy (or jelly beans, or any type of egg shaped candy.) It's fairly quick, only a little messy, and pretty easy to clean up.

Start by melting the butterscotch. Some people talk about using a double boiler to melt the chips, but microwaving them for about a minute and a half is much quicker and simpler, and works just as well.

Once the chips are melted, just dump in the bag of noodles and mix until they're coated. (This is the hardest part.) And it's the only part that the kids couldn't really help with. They tried, but the mixture is pretty thick and difficult to stir, so they left it to me.

While I was mixing, the kids helped with the next step. The ones that I had seen online just kind of molded their "nests" on waxed paper, but I thought it might be a little easier if we made them in mini muffin cups (which turned out to be a great idea.)

The kids always take this part of their job so seriously.

And take such pride in a job well done. You just have to love it.

With the mixture and the muffin cups ready to go, I had the kids use some Crisco on their hands to avoid having everything stick to them. (It mostly worked.) They weren't too overly thrilled with how it felt on their hands...

...but they decided that they could deal with it.

And then came the best part - filling up the nests. They actually did a really great job, and didn't make nearly the mess that I had expected.

Then came the eggs for the nests.

One thing I learned after the first tray is that the eggs don't necessarily stick to the nests like some people said they would. My solution: a little dab of peanut butter on the bottom of each egg. It worked like a charm, but it was slightly tedious (so the kids graciously allowed me to take care of that part.)

That added step made the project take a little longer than I had expected, but it still wasn't too bad. And, as you can see, it was totally worth it.