Cooking and Serving: 20 minutes | 10 cookies
Ingredients
Nicole’s Recipe Notes | Ingredient selection & substitutions
Description
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 10 cookies
Ingredients
Nicole’s Recipe Notes
Ingredient selection & substitutions
Notes
* Ingredient selection & substitutions
* Gluten Free Bird’s Nest Cookies Recipe
* Storage instructions
This recipe is just for fun! There are tons of recipes for these sort of Easter
cookies on the web. But I had heard that you could buy gf chow mein noodles and
I wanted to prove it to you!
I also made sure I tried this simple no-recipe recipe with gf pretzel sticks.
Those are available everywhere and some recipes I’ve seen for these treats
casually claim that they’re gluten free because you can “just use pretzels.”
If you break the pretzel sticks in half, right in the center, to create 2 equal
halves, you can definitely make chocolate covered nests with them. But I won’t
lie to you—it’s much harder to get the candy-coated chocolate eggs to stay put
If you like the idea of chocolate no bake cookies
all the trouble of sourcing ingredients, maybe just stick with our no bake
oatmeal cookies recipe. But aren’t you still glad to see that you can make
bird’s nests, even if you don’t actually do it?
ingredients for gluten free bird’s nest cookies in small bowls and in a red and
black package with white block letters spelling out ingredient names
for gluten free bird’s nest cookies in small bowls and in a red and black
package with white block letters spelling out ingredient names
INGREDIENT SELECTION & SUBSTITUTIONS
GLUTEN FREE CHOW MEIN NOODLES
Gefen brand makes authentic-tasting gluten free chow mein noodles
. They have a “fine” noodle, which is ideal for this
recipe, and a “wide” noodle, which isn’t very wide but is more flat than the
The wide noodle was more available, but in the name of authenticity, I ordered
the thin noodles from Amazon. In my personal experience, they came carefully
packaged and weren’t stale or broken, as many of the earlier Amazon reviews
If you can’t find any gf crispy chow mein noodles, you can use gluten free
pretzel sticks to make this recipe. Break each pretzel stick in the center or
you won’t be able to scoop the mixture.
white tray with blue rim with 4 brown bird’s nest cookies made with broken
pretzel sticks and melted chocolate topped with 3 Cadbury mini egg candies each
tray with blue rim with 4 brown bird’s nest cookies made with broken pretzel
sticks and melted chocolate topped with 3 Cadbury mini egg candies each
I also think that corn Chex cereal would make a great crispy noodle replacement.
The shape wouldn’t be as similar, but I think they would be easier to work with
than pretzels and taste even better.
You can use chocolate chips here instead of chopped baking chocolate. They will
just take a bit longer to melt. Just use something that you love the taste of,
and that would go well with whatever flavored chips you’ve chosen.
I used Nestle brand butterscotch chips, but you can use white chocolate chips,
caramel flavored chips, or even peanut butter flavored chips. Read labels
carefully, since many of the flavored chips are not gluten free. Or you can just
use 6 ounces more chocolate and forget about adding flavorings.
These candy-coated milk chocolate miniature egg-shaped candies are one of the
best things about this time of year. Placing a few of them on top of the
chocolate “nest” is what makes these cookies so fun. If you don’t like or can’t
have those eggs, you can always use 3 larger-sized jelly beans. If you love
those little seasonal eggs like I do, you have to try our gluten free Cadbury
If you need to make sure this recipe is dairy-free, be sure to select dairy free
chocolate flavored chips (or skip the chips altogether and just use more
chocolate). The Gefen chow mein noodles are dairy-free, but the Cadbury eggs
contain milk, so you should use jelly beans instead.
There are eggs in the Gefen chow mein noodles, so you should use gluten free
pretzel sticks instead.
pile of dark brown cookies with chow mein noodles mixed in to melted chocolate
and topped with mini pastel egg shaped candies on a small white tray with blue
of dark brown cookies with chow mein noodles mixed in to melted chocolate and
topped with mini pastel egg shaped candies on a small white tray with blue rim
Go Ad-Free
GLUTEN FREE BIRD’S NEST COOKIES RECIPE
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Setting/chilling time: 1 hour hr
9 brown bird’s nest cookies with 3 pastel-colored Cadbury mini eggs on top of
brown bird’s nest cookies with 3 pastel-colored Cadbury mini eggs on top of each
* 12 ounces your favorite baking chocolate, chopped (you can use chocolate
* 6 ounces gluten free butterscotch chips, (or white chocolate or peanut
* 2 ¾ cups (7.7 ounces) gluten free fine chow mein noodles
* 36 Cadbury mini eggs, or large jelly beans
* Line a large flat surface with parchment paper and set it aside.
* Place the chocolate and butterscotch chips in a medium-size heat-safe (or
microwave safe) bowl.
round metal mixing bowl with dark brown chocolate disks and light brown
metal mixing bowl with dark brown chocolate disks and light brown
* Melt the mixture either over a double boiler, stirring frequently, or in
short bursts of about 20 seconds each in the microwave, stirring in between,
until melted and smooth.
* The flavored chips will take longer to melt than baking chocolate, and even
longer than chocolate chips if you are using those instead of baking
chocolate. Don’t rush and use too much heat, or the chocolate will seize.
same metal mixing bowl with black silicone spatula with most of mixture
melted into a brown liquid with some lumps
metal mixing bowl with black silicone spatula with most of mixture melted
into a brown liquid with some lumps
* Let the melted mixture sit, stirring frequently, until no longer hot to the
touch. Otherwise, the noodles may taste stale.
same mixing bowl with all ingredients melted into brown liquid
mixing bowl with all ingredients melted into brown liquid
* Place the chow mein noodles on top of the melted chocolate mixture.
same bowl with thin light brown chow mein noodles on top
bowl with thin light brown chow mein noodles on top
* Using a silicone spatula, turn the mixture over to mix gently with a until
all of the pieces are coated in the chocolate mixture.
fingers holding black silicone spatula using it to turn over mixture and mix
together chow mein noodles with melted chocolate
holding black silicone spatula using it to turn over mixture and mix together
chow mein noodles with melted chocolate
* Using a medium-size spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop the
mixture into 10 portions, each about 2 tablespoons in volume.
fingers holding black handle of metal ice cream scoop with dark brown cookie
mixture over white paper
holding black handle of metal ice cream scoop with dark brown cookie mixture
* Release the mixture in mounds on the parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches
9 mounds of dark brown and shiny melted chocolate mixed with chow mein
noodles on white paper
mounds of dark brown and shiny melted chocolate mixed with chow mein noodles
* Place 3 candies in the center of each mound and press gently to help them
same 9 mounds of melted chocolate with noodles also with 3 pastel colored
Cadbury mini egg candies on top of each
9 mounds of melted chocolate with noodles also with 3 pastel colored Cadbury
mini egg candies on top of each
* Allow to stand until no longer warm at all (about 15 minutes), and then place
the cookies, still on the paper and flat surface, in the refrigerator to
chill until fully set (about 30 minutes). When they’re fully set, they will
no longer be shiny at all and can be moved easily off the paper.
same cookies but now set so the chocolate is no longer shiny, but is instead
cookies but now set so the chocolate is no longer shiny, but is instead matte
About the chow mein noodles.
If you can find or are willing to order them, use Gefen brand “fine” gluten free
chow mein noodles for this recipe. Otherwise, you can use the “wide” noodles by
the same brand, or gluten free pretzle sticks. Break each pretzel stick in half,
then proceed with the recipe as written.
About the flavored chips.
I used Nestle brand butterscotch chips, but you can use white chocolate chips,
caramel flavored chips, or even peanut butter flavored chips. Read labels
carefully, since many of the flavored chips are not gluten free.
Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 176mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber:
4g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an
After they’re set, you can store these cookies in an airtight container in the
refrigerator for up to 1 week. A flat, rectangular container is best. Just place
a sheet of parchment paper between layers of cookies.
For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to 1 month, and then defrost in
the refrigerator. The chocolate will most likely “bloom” or develop some white
streaks, but they won’t change the flavor (just the appearance). The noodles may
get a bit stale in the freezer.
side image of brown chocolate no bake cookie with thin chow mein noodles mixed
in and topped with 3 mini egg shaped candies with yellow, pink and white
image of brown chocolate no bake cookie with thin chow mein noodles mixed in and
topped with 3 mini egg shaped candies with yellow, pink and white coatings