These are one of my fondest memories as a child. My mother only made these for Easter which made them a special treat. What made them ever more special was that my sister didn’t like them so they were all mine! They are much closer to rice krispie treats than cookies but forget semantics, these cookies are delicious. The smell of the peanut butter, brown sugar and coconut melting together is wonderful and as a bonus, these cookies are vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free, so eat up my foodies! My mother is infatuated with jelly beans – I’m fairly certain we had jelly bean soup as kids, so use chocolate eggs if you prefer. I upped the nutrition value by using brown rice cereal, reduced-fat coconut and organic corn syrup.
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3 cups brown rice cereal
1 cup reduced-fat shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/3 cup organic light corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1t vanilla
40 pectin jelly beans or chocolate eggs
Instructions:
1. Combine cereal and coconut in a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining ingredients (corn syrup, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla) to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour into the bowl and stir until well mixed.
2. Let mixture sit until it is cool enough to handle, but the hotter it is the easier it will be to work with. Grab a small handful, squeeze together and shape into a nest. Place 3-4 vibrant jelly beans in the center. Let cool completely and store in a sealed container. Makes about 12-15 cookies.
| Nutrition Facts |
|---|
| Serving Size 1 nest Servings per Batch 12 |
| Amount Per Serving |
| Calories 220 |
| Total Fat 10g |
| Saturated Fat 3.5g |
| Sodium 78mg |
| Total Carbohydrate 30g |
| Dietary Fiber 1.5g |
| Sugars 20g |
| Protein 4.5g |
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peanut butter + coconut = so not a Hollywood marriage. it’s built to last, yum!
YUM YUM!!!
Lovely photo, but I have to look away now because my teeth are screaming, aahhh!
They’d be great to take on a hike no? I can imagine biting into one of them on top of a Dorset hill, looking out to sea. No hang on, my teeth hurt.
x x x
Those look great! I think I’d have to put m&m “eggs” in them…
yum!
They look so cute and yummy I could eat 10 right now, but I am on a diet (?) hehe. Great recipe.
These look fabulous. I’d have to substitute cashew butter, I think – it would go better with the coconut than almond butter, which I would usually use here. They’re such a creative idea!
Like the idea of the brown cereal and the use of candy as a topping. What a sweet treat.
sweet, these are vegan too. Can’t wait to make them.
THANKS!!!
Nick, your contribution is SO innovative and gorgeous – love the idea!! Such a fun, delicious-looking cookie – and hey, it DESERVES to be an indulgent treat!! Everything in moderation ;0)
Oh, Nick, you’re becoming SO gluten-free! And depending on the peanut butter you use, these could be dairy-free as well. I LOVE it!
And I like the thought of coconut and peanut butter together. Yum!
Melissa
celine, Nicely put.
Naomi, Screaming teeth in a good way? They’re actually not that sweet. When you consider that there is only a little over 3/4 cup of sugar in these compared to 3/4 cup peanut butter and 4 cups of other stuff, they actually turn out just a little sweet and a little salty. Perfect really. These would be great on a hike for energy, they’re packed with some good nutrients and a small amount of sugar for a boost. Probably wouldn’t bother with nest shaped ones for a hike though =)
elle, I love those m&m eggs!
Ben, these are almost diet food! There is not all that much sugar in them compared to the other ingredients which are genuinely healthy.
Fearless Kitchen, they’d go great with any nut butter, but honestly peanut butter and coconut is an exquisite combo – you must try!
Veggiegirl, correct! Moderation is key, which means that giving these away to my roommates so I only had 1 left to eat was a very good idea!
Sarah, Melissa, Thanks for pointing that out – I didn’t realize they were vegan and gluten/dairy-free. I updated the post to show that, there’s not many people that can’t enjoy these now! Except peanut-allergy people =/. They must be the saddest people in the world…
These look great! I will sure be making them soon! Great Recipe.
Those nest cookies look great!
I love the texture of the cookies and the simple ingredients list! I think I’m going to stop staring at the picture now–I’m drooling all over my keyboard…
Ooh these look SO good!! Well done. I might have to forgo the jelly beans for something vegan though. =) Do you think chocolate chips might taste good with this?
So, when they’re all gone, do you have…empty nest syndrome?
(I absolutely KILL me!)
YUM! Those are really cute… and I just maaay have almost all of the ingredients at home already. Sweet!
Oh my gosh these things taste amazing! My friend makes something like them..so good!
These are absolutely adorable! What a fun thing for your Mom to make you!
Love the recipe! It’s so simple yet yummy!! Looks like they’d be fun to make with kids.
Keep them coming.
OMG i just stumbled across your blog and i SO WISH i had known about it sooner! I lovelovelove peanut butter and i love your blog! the pictures are awesome and i can’t wait to try out these recipes!
Those look great! I’m definitely going to have to make them.
thanks for the contribution to ‘go ahead honey’! i’ve never seen anything quite like them before… i think we’re going to have a really diverse and tasty roundup. oh- and i love the coconut/pb combo. i’ve been thinking about experimenting with the two myself as i really just started eating peanut butter for a few months ago ;)
Thanks for participating in Go Ahead Honey. Those easter nests look so darned gooey, I’m going to have to bookmark them for Fin. x x x
My kids would love these! And, I guess I would, too. hehehe
Smart mom. And cool son for taking after her. Those morsels look seriously dangerous.
nick these totally rock! and you used brown rice, good thinking! I am totally trying these.
I know a little girl who would just love these, especially those jelly beans on top!
Any substitution ideas for coconut?
Or can it be omitted?
Omit the coconut and if the nests aren’t holding together then add a bit more of the rice cereal, it should be fine. You could also try substituting something else, such as half a cup of wheat bran or flax seed. ~ Nick
Those are so cute!!!
This sounds GREAT!!! I love the little jelly bean eggs =)
SO ADORABLE AND DELIGHTFUL!!
wow you don’t mess around – you really love peanut butter :)
What a fun Easter treat!!
What a sweet treat. I would put a peep in the middle!
Oh my gosh, DROOL!
I love that these birds’ nests cookies bring back such fabulous memories! They certainly look delicious. I love the coconut and PB combo. Fantastic!
Wonderful! I think I’d substitute M&Ms for the jelly beans…because you can’t beat chocolate and PB.
Nick,
These are so so cute!
I know this is weird, but its like I can almost taste them :)
Sibling competitiveness never seems to end. And what did your sister get that you didn’t like or were you just the family garburator? :)
Haha, I had to look up the word “garburator”, we just call them garbage disposals, but yes, I was pretty much the garburator of the family. These treats were just for me! I don’t know what my sister got, I’m sure I let her have all the other cookies because they just didn’t compare to these! ~ Nick
These are sooo cute! I love when recipes are special like that. Thanks for sharing!
Mmmmm. Perfect for Easter! But I would totally substitute mini eggs for the jellybeans. Gotta have the chocolate in there ;)
Mmm, mmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmmm! Love bird nests, especially when they have 1) PB, 2) EGGS!
While I’ve never made the “classic” version, these sound simply good enough to try to veganize- though I already have several easter goodies concocted in advance! :-)
Great looking treats Nick! I love them :)
These look so delicious!!!! And no gluten – nice!
Love these! I thought at first those were m&ms and was almost disappointed to find out they were jelly beans (like I was actually going to eat them or something) – but I like the twist! …and uh, I suppose I could use m&ms if I made them.
It’s cool that you have the nutritional info in here. You just keep making this site better and better, don’t you ;)
Haha, so far everyone thought they were (or should be) chocolate and I never even thought of it, we’ve just always used jelly beans. And thanks, I appreciate the compliments =) ~ Nick
Oh my Nick, my husband would love these. OK, I would too. :) Not a jelly bean fan, but I’m thinking they’d be great with a little chocolate in the center!
What an interesting recipe. Not sure where to get brown rice cereal but I’m guessing regular corn flakes may work too?
Brown rice cereal is easily found in health food stores or even as a bulk item in Whole Foods. I have a feeling corn flakes would work pretty well but you’d have to crush them up first. Let me know how it turns out if you attempt it! ~ Nick
I guess I don’t know what brown rice cereal is. a google search reveals a wide variety of possibilities. Please give a hint with a brand name or grocery section?
It’s the same thing as Rice Krispies, except it’s made with brown rice instead of white rice. You can find it as a bulk item in Whole Foods or sometimes in the cereal aisle. I’ve added a link in the recipe to a brown rice cereal available on Amazon. Regular Rice Krispies would be fine too. ~ Nick