Bird Nest Candies for Easter

My mother was always thinking of fun, creative ways to celebrate Easter. She didn’t go out of her way to create tradition. It just happened. These adorable (and yummy) bird nest candies are an Easter mainstay for our family. Maybe you can share them with your family too.

Ingredients:

One 11oz bag Butterscotch morsels

¾ cup peanut butter (smooth)

3 cups Chow Mein noodles

Mini Robin Eggs (Malted Milk Candy)

Melt butterscotch morsels and peanut butter in the microwave. Stirring frequently until smooth.

Add chow Mein noodles. Stir until fully coated.
Place table spoon size drops on wax paper and shape into nest shape leaving room for eggs.

Add Robin Eggs once the candy has slightly cooled.

Makes 16 large or 30 small bird nests.

I’m anxious for tomorrow. I enjoy the excitement of remembering the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice is what makes me whole, brings me peace and reminds me that there is always a bigger picture. I am unworthy of His gift and am overwhelmed by His love. I want my children to experience these same feelings as they grow. For now, I’ll create fun traditions that build anticipation for Easter and one day enjoy the moments where they discover their own relationship with Christ.

Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

We have a birthday party for a co-worker of mine today. She loves Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and I volunteered to bake. Well, you know me, can’t do anything NORMAL, so I thought, "how can I make this unique?" The idea of a cupcake came to me, and I found quite a few recipes. I chose this one and it’s YUMMMMY! I’m planning to serve these chilled (because making them fresh isn’t an option), with Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream.

This makes 9 full cupcakes, or 12 small ones.

Ingredients for topping:
1 can pineapple rings
Maraschino Cherries
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Ingredients for batter:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a non-stick cupcake pan. You won’t need cupcake liners, obviously, because you’ll be inverting these.

Melt butter and brown sugar in a small pot over the stove. Place a large table spoon of this mixture in the bottom of each cupcake cup. Placed pineapples and cherries on top of the sauce. I sliced my pineapple rings into four quarters. Two quarters fit nicely in the bottom of the cup.


In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder on low, with an electric mixer. Carefully add in the melted butter, pineapple juice and milk. Then add the egg and the vanilla.

Spoon the batter over the fruit and sugar into each muffin cup, evenly. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick tester comes out clean. (Note: The sugar butter mixture bubbles up from the bottom and made quite a lovely mess in the bottom of my oven (yeah). Next time I’ll lay foil down first!)

When you take them out of the oven, let them rest in the pan for a few minutes making sure the edges are unstuck. Then place a wire rack on TOP of the pan, flipping it over and hopefully…your little cakes will just plop on out, with the pineapple on top. If not, gently tap the bottoms of the cupcake pan with a spoon. You can hear the difference in tone when the cake has released (Steven discovered this). Oh, and be sure to lay wax paper down before flipping these, because they do drip a little.


Aren’t you dying to try one? Marin whined and whined to have one. I KNEW she wouldn’t eat it, but I finally gave in. She grinned, poked it and then pushed it to the side of her highchair tray (typical Marin). She doesn’t appreciated food the way Steven and I do. Aren’t these cupcakes fun?