Truffled Bird Nest Cookies
Truffles, la-la-la…my Christmas gift to you, amazing Truffled Bird Nest Cookies!
Yeah, this cookie recipe made my family and friends sing.
Truffled Bird Nest Cookies
While growing up my Grandmothers, Grandma Dora and Great-grandmother Mamie made the most beautiful cookie platters for our Christmas dinner parties. They frosted sugar cookies and trimmed them with colored, shimmering, sugars and silver balls. Snowball cookies, were rolled in powdered sugar, shortbread cookies were covered with caramel and topped with chocolate glaze and nuts, and my favorites were always Bird Nest Cookies. Grandma filled them with raspberry jam and they were a heavenly combination of shortbread, toasted nuts, and jam. Memories of these holiday delights were my inspiration for Truffled Bird Nest Cookies.
Have you seen these fabulous chocolate truffles at your local Costco? You can make your own, but why would you when you can get these well priced goodies all ready to go? I cut each truffle in half, so one box will make a lot of cookies. They are lovely just in a candy dish too!
Here’s how to make them:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and brown sugar in a food processor if you’ve got one, otherwise a mixer works just great. Add flour. Cut the dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball and then dip in the beaten egg white. Then roll in crushed walnuts or pecans. Press center with your finger.
Bake in a 35-degree oven for 8 minutes. Take out of the oven and press center again. I like to use a measuring teaspoon for this hot project. Bake 10 minutes more. Take out of the oven and gently press a half of a truffle into the middle.
Return it to the warm oven for about 5 minutes to melt the truffle. With the back of a spoon smooth the truffle out to fill “your nest.” Cool and let truffles set back up while you make the Pecan-Coconut Topping.
Toast 1 ¼ cup chopped pecans in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Oven temps vary, so keep an eye on those nuts! Combine sugar, milk or cream, egg yolks, butter, and salt over medium heat in a saucepan. Cook, stirring until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool. It will thicken as it cools. Spoon topping over the truffle rounding out your nest.
I like to melt 1/2 cut of white chocolate chips in a ziplock bag int the microwave. I simple let them soften in 10 second intervals. I flip it over until it’s all melted, and then I snip the corner of the bag, start small, and then drizzle the cookies with the melted chocolate.
Truffled Bird Nest Cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
I took four of my favorite things and created Truffled Bird Nest Cookies. Special thanks to my grandmas who made the most beautiful Christmas cookie platters and provided the inspiration for this divine holiday treat!
Author: Renée
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 16 cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1-cup flour
- 2 cups pecans, chopped
- 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
- 8 chocolate truffles cut in half (I buy mine at Costco)
- 1¼ cup pecans, chopped and toasted
- 1-cup sugar
- 1-cup evaporated milk or cream
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup butter, cut into pieces
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- ½ tsp. Vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
For Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and brown sugar in a food processor if you’ve got one, otherwise a mixer works just great. Add flour and mix well.
- Cut the dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball and then dip in the beaten egg white. Then roll in crushed nuts..
- Press center with finger.
- Bake for 8 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and press center again.
- Bake 10 minutes more.
- Take out of the oven and gently press a half of a chocolate truffle into the middle.
- Return it to the warm oven for about 5 minutes to melt the truffle. With the back of a spoon smooth the truffle out to fill “your nest.”
- Cool and let truffles set back up while you make the Pecan-Coconut Topping.
For Pecan-Coconut Filling
- Toast 1 ¼ cup chopped pecans in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Oven temps vary, so keep an eye on those nuts!
- Combine sugar, milk or cream, egg yolks, butter, and salt over medium heat in a saucepan. Cook, stirring until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool. It will thicken as it cools.
- Spoon topping over the truffle, rounding out your nest.
White Chocolate Drizzle
- Melt ½ cup white chocolate chips in a ziplock bag in the microwave using 10 second intervals.
- Take a small snip out of the bottom corner of the bag and drizzle the soft chocolate over your cookies.
- Drizzle with white melted chocolate...
Be sure to use some restraint and leave a few chocolaty surprises out for Santa with a big glass of milk!
Merry Christmas to all.
We're Alison and Renée, and we're so glad you've joined us! Our kitchens are our happy place, where we're whipping up memories. Get comfy and check things out. We hope you find inspiring dishes and ways to better your life. Feeling optimistic, trying new things and sharing with those we love brings joy in all we do. It's time to cook, create and celebrate. CHEERS! 
I can have a couple of these with my bowl of oatmeal this morning, right? You know, so I have a well rounded breakfast 🙂
Yum!
Beautiful cookies! Lovin’ your Christmas bird too:@)
Oh my! Those look unbelievable. Love your header, too.
Carol
These look like a tiny piece of Heaven! Good luck with the move my friend..see you soon! 😀
oh my goodness, that is amazing!
One word comes to mind…..MMMMMMMmmmmm!!!
wow, these look good! I’ve never had them before, but I’d definitely like to! : )
Oh my heavens! These look amazing!!!
They look reallyy good, especially the ones with melted chocolate on top.
Gnee — you are quite an amazing gal whipping these out and moving too. These look so num nummy num! Joni
I have a recipe for homemade truffles and this would be a good recipe for them to be added to! I also wonder what it would be like to replace the truffles with some Nutella. You could then replace the nuts with hazelnuts to continue the theme… mmm…
These look amazing! You should add them to my Cookie Exchange Blog Hop!
Oh Yum. THese look amazing.
I’d love it if you linked these up to my Holiday Recipe Link Party.
http://leafytreetopspot.blogspot.com/p/holiday-recipe-link-party.html
Oh wow, those look amazing!!!
Wow, these look AMAZING!
You are so amazing. I love your recipes and your beautiful new logo, photos and banner at the top. It was so fun to get to you know you better, and I hope we can find ways to stay connected! I am going to snap your buttermilk syrup recipe right now, so thanks! Happy New Year. 🙂