(two posts today – woo!) Weather you’re hosting Easter or you just want some good party ideas for kids – I’ve got you covered! I’ve done baking posts on my blog before – usually just one recipe but todays Easter post will be quite a few recipes and decoration ideas so hang tight, we will make it through together!

Recipe 1: ‘Peanut Butter and Chocolate Birds Nests’

This recipe is a variation of an old favourite (for many I’m sure), the classic chocolate spiders. This recipe can be found on the back of a packed of ‘Changs original fried noodles’ –  the core ingredient.  You’ll need:

• 1 packet of the fried noodles
• 2tbl crunchy peanut butter
• 200g of your chocolate of choice. I use milk or dark (mixing the two is also acceptable). White chocolate can work, but its not really the right colour for birds nests!
• You’ll also need some mini speckled eggs for decoration!

Method:
Break up the chocolate (if its a block) and put in a microwave safe bowl, add the peanut butter and microwave for 30seconds, take it out – stir it, microwave for a further 15 seconds, take it out and stir it, microwave in 5 second intervals until its fully melted. Give the mixture a good stir and then add in half of the packet of noodles, stir them until completely coated in the chocolate mix then add the other half.
Spoon mixture on to a tray lined with baking paper and you’re good to go. Place as many little eggs as you’d like in the centre of the chocolate mounds. I went for 3.
Place in the fridge to set and you’re done! Not only are they super quick, they’re also adorable and such a low maintenance chocolate treat that is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Recipe 2: Sugar Cookies

I’ve been on the hunt for my ‘go-to’ sugar cookie recipe for approx 2 years now and I think I’ve finally found it. This is just a recipe for the cookies themselves – not the royal icing. Google is your friend. (;

Ingredients:

• 1 cup softened unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose (plain) flour
• 1 cup self raising flower
• ½ tsp salt
• additional flour for rolling

Method: Preheat oven 180C/350F

• Beat (electric mixer) the butter for a few minutes until its creamy, smooth and starts to lighten in colour.
• Add sugar and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
• In a separate bowl sift flour and salt. Gradually add flower to ‘wet’ ingredients mixing well between rounds.
• When mixture is dough like and all combined flatten between two sheets of baking powder and put in freezer for half an hour.
• Roll dough out to desired thickness and cut into shapes.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely before icing them.

I iced mine in cute pastel colours, something I deem perfect for Easter and just adorable anyway. I then decorated them with white icing. I decided to keep it simple because a) the more you do the more you can mess up and b) you don’t need to overload a cookie with rock hard sugar. Special thanks goes to my sister Bonnie for helping me in the kitchen all day!

 

Recipe 3: Vanilla cupcakes

You can use your favourite recipe for these. Thats what I’ve done.

I chose to decorate these in two different ways. The first was by icing them and then crumbling up a ‘flake’ chocolate bar and pressing it into the still wet icing to form a ‘nest’ and then added 3 mini speckled eggs. I don’t know why Easter is associated with birds nests, but it is!

The second way, I decided to colour some sugar – very easy. and make bunny ears out of marshmallows. (take a marshmallow and cut it in half – boom – bunny ears) I pressed the sugar into the marshmallow and taadaa, you’ve got yourself some super sweet (ha!) bunny ears! I roughly piped the icing on the cup cake to resemble a fluffy bunny and stuck the ears in!

Displaying these treats is simple as they really do all the work for you! I like putting them on nice platters or displaying them on a cupcake stand. Something easy and accessible. People will be talking about your Easter – high-tea treats for days and you’ll be a hit at all the parties!

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