This is a silly little recipe for Chocolate Nests that my daughter has perfected. It’s genius in its simplicity. But, leave it to me to complicate it a tad.
Chocolate Nests – a simple recipe (All photos credit: George Graham)
My daughter Lauren is a sophomore at Louisiana State University and after spending her freshman year in the dorm, she is now living in her first apartment. She’s learned a lot about cooking and baking, but her most important discoveries are time-savers and short cuts. Out of necessity, juggling sorority, classes, acting in films, church duties, and a job as entertainment anchor on LSU Tiger TV, she succeeds in finding a bit of time to create some culinary magic.
Her crunchy, chocolate dessert is both creative and dead simple – three main ingredients and a half hour. While the recipe for Chocolate Nests has been out there for years, I couldn’t dream up a more fun project for kids to tackle than these chocolate nests.
This is where it gets complicated. There is nothing Cajun or Creole about this one, but I did try to add a little nod to my South Louisiana roots. I subscribe to the theory that anything good can be made better by adding bacon. And when I saw the bacon-flavored chocolate bars at World Market, I couldn’t resist.
Before you hit the delete button, give it a try. Vosges Haut Chocolate makes the Mo’s® Bacon Bar combining milk chocolate with hickory smoked uncured bacon and alderwood salt. You can truly taste the bacon, and it works perfectly with the balance of salty and sweet. Just serve these up without explanation and listen to the compliments you’ll get. It’s your call whether you expose the secret ingredient.
Lauren laughs at my addition, and I will admit this sweet treat is just as good with regular semi-sweet or milk chocolate.
Well, almost.
But, does it work?
Try this Chocolate Nests recipe on your family and send me a comment. Who knows, we may have stumbled upon a new classic.
- Non-stick spray
- 4 (3-ounce) bars of Mo’s® Bacon Bar chocolate candy or regular semi-sweet chocolate
- 2½ cups chow mein noodles
- Assorted colors of small jelly beans, speckled malted milk eggs, or other egg-shaped candy
- On a large baking sheet, line it with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Spray it lightly with non-stick spray. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
- Gently fold in the chow mein noodles trying not to break them. If you do, that’s okay since it will look even more like a nest.
- Spoon six small mounds of the mixture on to the baking sheet and, using your fingers or a teaspoon, mold them into a nest shape. They should be about 4 inches wide and indented in the middle.
- Place the baking sheet with the nests into the refrigerator to set. It should take no more than 30 minutes. When hardened, remove the nests from the refrigerator and place a few of the candies in the middle, alternating colors.
- Move them to a serving platter and serve.
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Too cool!! Love this!!
I’m going to make these with my daughter…..cute and easy! Love the idea of bacon chocolate but don’t think I can find it in Tyler!
World Market has it, but you can sub any good semi-sweet or milk chocolate.
I have gotten bacon chocolate at The Fresh Market as well.
We are really looking forward to trying these!! They are so adorable!!!
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