Maybe you
noticed at Easter time that it was next to impossible to find chow mein
noodles (the dry crispy kind) in the stores. That's because people
everywhere were coating them with melted chocolate, shaping them into
nests, and filling them with candy-coated chocolate eggs or jelly beans.
Well, since I wanted to do the same thing and could not find chow mein
noodles, I had to put on my thinking cap and come up with another
solution. And the answer came in the form of bran cereal,
which worked very well! I also kicked up the coating so it was fudgier
(and in my opinion tastier) than plain chocolate. Now don't get me
wrong, I love good old straight-up chocolate, but in this application I liked the no-bake
chocolate/butter/peanut butter mixture better. Here's the recipe:
CHOCOLATE NESTS FOR EASTER
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups bran cereal (such as Kellog's All-Bran, original style)
Egg-shaped Easter candy of your choice (such as Cadbury or Hershey eggs, jelly beans, etc.)
Line
a large baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper; set aside. Combine
butter, sugar, milk and cocoa in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat
over medium flame, bring to a boil and boil while stirring for one
minute, then remove from heat. Add vanilla and peanut butter; stir until
smooth. Stir in bran cereal. Using a small scoop, scoop mounds onto
prepared baking sheet. Use a spoon to make a small indentation in the
center of each mound and add three or four candies to each "nest."
Repeat with remainder of mixture. Let cool.
