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Made with gooey marshmallow, melted butter, and puffed rice cereal, and decorated with shredded coconut and chocolate mini eggs (plus plenty of pastel sprinkles!) these Easter Rice Krispie bird nest treats make a fun addition to any springtime celebration.
Why Make These Easter Rice Krispie Bird Nest Treats?
I love these Easter Rice Krispie bird nest treats because they combine two of my all-time favorites: Rice Krispie treats (because really, who doesn’t love a Rice Krispie treat?) and Cadbury mini eggs, a.k.a. the best seasonal candy ever.
Hand-shaped into tiny bird’s nests, these Easter Rice Krispie treats are both fun and easy to make, and offer plenty of room for creativity (see below for my suggestions for decorating Rice Krispie treats for Easter). And kids can definitely help with the shaping and decorating—just make sure an adult handles the hot butter-marshmallow portion of the recipe!
These Easter Rice Krispie treats provide are a fun alternative to traditional cereal bars, and the bird nest shape is perfect for Easter or other springtime celebrations. You can even customize the colors to match the other desserts on your Easter platter, or serve these alongside other Cadbury mini egg treats, like my mini egg blondies with white chocolate ganache.
Tools and Ingredients for Making Easter Bird Nest Treats
You’ll need a 12-cup, standard-size (not mini) muffin tin to make these bird nest treats. In addition, you’ll want to use silicone muffin liners for this recipe. (Trust me, lining the silicone makes everything so much easier, and you won’t find yourself scraping marshmallow from your muffin tins!) Also, do not use paper liners for this recipe—they’ll stick to the treats. If you don’t have silicone muffin liners, I suggest using a silicone muffin pan instead.
I added coconut flavoring to my bird nest treats, but feel free to use vanilla extract, or substitute another springtime flavor like bubblegum or strawberry. You can also omit the flavoring altogether.
You’ll need a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot for making the butter-marshmallow-cereal mixture, and a disposable piping bag to pipe the melted chocolate. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can place the chocolate in a large ziploc bag and snip off the corner, or simply spoon the melted chocolate into the nests instead.
When adding the melted chocolate, I suggest using a small measuring spoon (a 1/2 teaspoon or teaspoon should work, depending on the size of your indentations) to spread it inside the nests. It’s important to spread the melted chocolate as it gives the shredded coconut pieces something to adhere to.
Decorating Rice Krispie Treats for Easter
Because marshmallows sold in the UK are often pink in color (I’m still not entirely sure why!) I tinted my cereal mixture with pink gel food coloring. Feel free to choose another color, like purple or yellow, or omit the food coloring and make natural, cereal-colored treats instead.
If desired, you can also add food coloring to the flaked coconut to make it pink, green, or any other color you’d like. Just place the shredded coconut in a small bowl, add 1-2 drops of food coloring, and use a fork to toss until the color is evenly incorporated.
I made homemade sprinkles for my nests, in colors matching the Cadbury mini eggs (see my recent post to learn how to make homemade sprinkles from scratch). You can also use store-bought sprinkles, pastel nonpareils, Easter sprinkles, or anything else you’d like!
If you don’t care for white chocolate, feel free to substitute milk or dark chocolate instead, or use pastel-colored candy melts. And I’ve used Cadbury Mini Eggs because they’re my all-time favorite, but malted milk Easter eggs or jelly beans will work, too.
Above all else, be creative! Add edible glitter, edible gold leaf, sugar pearls, or sugar flowers. Drizzle additional melted chocolate over the tops of your nests. If you’re feeling particularly inspired, you can even try your hand at a fondant bird.
Easter Rice Krispie Treats Tips and Tricks
When pressing the indentations into the middle of each nest, I suggest keeping a dish of water nearby and dipping your fingers periodically to prevent the cereal from sticking.
Be sure to allow the white chocolate to set before removing the bird nest treats from the silicone cups. Do not put the nests in the refrigerator—be patient and allow the chocolate to set at room temperature instead.
Rice Krispie Bird Nest Make Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Rice Krispie treats have a fairly short shelf life—in testing, I find that they’re pretty stale within 2 days or so (as opposed to other cookies or brownies, which will usually be okay for 4-5 days.) For peak freshness, I suggest making these either the night before, or the day of, your event.
Store leftover Easter bird nests in an airtight container at room temperature. To prevent the treats from sticking together, arrange them in a single layer, or layer the nests between sheets of wax paper or baking parchment.
Other Easter recipes you might enjoy:
Buttercream Easter Eggs
Creme Egg Brownie Cups
Peanut Butter Eggs
Homemade Sprinkles
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Easter Rice Krispie Bird Nest Treats
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 2-inch round Easter bird nest treats 1x
Description
Made with gooey marshmallow, melted butter, and puffed rice cereal and decorated with coconut and chocolate mini eggs (plus plenty of pastel sprinkles!) these Easter Rice Krispie treats make a fun addition to any springtime celebration.
Ingredients
100 grams puffed rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies (about 3 cups)
200 grams marshmallows (about 2 1/4 cups)
60 grams unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring
Pink gel food coloring
Pinch fine sea salt
Nonstick spray, for greasing spatula and cutter
To Decorate:
36 Cadbury mini eggs
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
75 grams white chocolate (2 1/2 ounces, or about 1/2 cup)
Easter sprinkles
Instructions
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with silicone liners.
Add the butter to a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or stock pot. Melt the butter.
Add the marshmallows, and continue stirring until completely melted.
Remove from heat. Stir in the fine sea salt, gel food coloring, and coconut flavoring.
Stir in the puffed rice cereal, and continue stirring until the mixture is well combined, with no dry cereal remaining.
Divide mixture evenly between the twelve muffin cups.
Fill a small bowl with water. Dampen your fingertips, then press the mixture into each cup until it is evenly distributed, with a deep a indentation in the middle. Re-wet your fingers as needed to prevent the marshmallow from sticking to your hands.
Set aside and allow to cool at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate in short intervals, stirring periodically to prevent it from burning.
Transfer melted chocolate to a piping bag. Pipe a dollop into the center of each cup.
With a teaspoon, spread the melted chocolate upwards, evenly coating the indentation.
Sprinkle with shredded coconut and Easter sprinkles.
Place three mini eggs in each cup.
Allow the finished bird nest treats to sit at room temperature until the chocolate sets, then carefully peel away the silicone liners. Serve immediately.
Place leftover Easter treats in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment. Store at room temperature for up to three days.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cooling Time: 1 hour
- Category: Brownies and Traybakes
- Method: Stovetop