I interrupt the amazing guest writers I’ve had and will continue to have because it’s very important that you have this recipe in time to grab some candy coated eggs off the grocery shelf. Happy season transitioning. 

I like what Kathleen Norris writes about the unexpected difficulty of transitioning into bright green spring weather in her book Quotidian Mysteries:

I am always distressed to find how fearfully I confront the glorious prospect of spring and summer, their tantalizing invitation to the out—of—doors and ease of movement. […]

Just as Adam and Eve left Eden in order to take on work that is never finished but must be repeated, so there are spiritual matters that I must contend with over and over again, whenever I am confronted with the genuinely new, even the expected newness of spring. Winter has become a comfortable place to wallow in gloom, my Egypt, the devil I know; but I must cast it off in order to welcome the burgeoning green life out—of—doors.

Though built with zero sense of passing time and an abiding sense that either their birthday or Christmas must be imminent, children seem to have a carefully calibrated inner clock of traditions. This recipe is written in permanent marker on my children’s psychic daybooks and each year around spring they begin to ask, “and when will we make the nests?”

The recipe comes from the dear companion of A Year Between Friends, a book I find myself pulling out at certain times to page through and be gently inspired as we transition into new seasons and new weather.

Their recipe is a more elegant version than what you’ll see on most of the internet. They use unsweetened shredded coconut instead of the sugar-doused goopy coconut. They also suggest using a vanilla bean which adds a black-bespeckled flair, but for my purposes with the kids and how frequently we end up making this recipe in March and April, vanilla extract is simply easier.

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Coconut Macaroon Nests

from A Year Between Friends

Makes 12 cookies

2 egg whites

1/4-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups //170 grams unsweetened shredded coconut

2/3 cups//135 grams sugar

a pinch salt

1 package candy-coated chocolate egg candy

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl lightly beat the egg whites with a fork just until frothy. Add the vanilla, coconut, sugar and salt. Stir to combine and evenly coat.

Make tablespoon-size mounds of dough on the prepared baking sheet. We like to depress our mounds with the back of a spoon to create the depression for the eggs. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Using a spatula, gently transfer the macaroons to a wire rack. While the macaroons are still warm, gently press 2-3 candy eggs into the top of each one to create a nest. Allow the nests to fully cool before serving.

You can see their original recipe using, vanilla bean, here.