Life at the Chicken Coop

Bird's Nest Valentines

These valentines have actually been in my "think tank" for several years. I wanted to incorporate a nest into something edible. And, I liked the idea of the foil-wrapped chocolate hearts as the eggs. I was inspired (somehow) by the molded pulp bowls I found at a wholesale paper goods store last week. They reminded me of a nest I guess. And I thought the foil-y silver paper shred was also nest-y. Here's what I came up with.

The nests are just those Chinese haystack noodles covered in melted chocolate and butterscotch chips. (I pressed that into a bowl lined with parchment paper, then froze it until it was hardened). For the eggs I melted Symphony bars, poured it into heart molds, then wrapped in the prettiest color of red foil wrappers I had ever seen. I also made some caramel-filled pretzel rings and then dipped those in chocolate. Wrap the whole thing in cellophane, tie on a red ribbon, and voila! Instant nest valentine.