These cute little nest cookies are easy to make, taste delicious, and are just perfect for Easter. Fill them with coconut and your favorite egg shaped candy for a fun treat!
With a sprinkling of green coconut and egg candies, these nest cookies will add a little pizazz to any Easter celebration! I found the recipe for these nest cookies in an old cookbook by Alisa Bangerter. I think they turned out so stinking cute!
Cream cheese adds a rich flavor to the cookies, and helps them stay extra soft and creamy. We love them with a bit of coconut and almond extract, but you can use whatever flavors you like.
I used Cadbury Mini Eggs, but Reese’s eggs, jelly beans, or any other egg shaped candy will do.
HOW TO MAKE NEST COOKIES:
- PREP WORK: Tint your coconut by placing it in a small jar with a lid and adding a few drops of green food coloring. Add the lid and shake vigorously till all the coconut is green. Spray cookie sheets or line with silicone liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- DOUGH: Similar to most cookie dough, you start by creaming the butter (and cream cheese) with the sugar. Beat in the egg and extracts, then stir in the dry ingredients.
- FORM COOKIES: Roll dough into balls and place on prepared cookie sheets. Use a round teaspoon or your thumb to make an indentation in each cookie.
- BAKE: Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350°. The cookies don’t brown, so just bake them until they are set. Remove from the oven and use the spoon to press down the indentation again.
- DECORATE: Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle with tinted coconut and top with candies.
VARIATIONS:
- If you don’t care for coconut, you can use green frosting instead. Pipe it on with a small holed tip so it resembles grass.
- Instead of adding green coconut grass to the cooled cookies, you can sprinkle coconut on the dough nests before putting them in the oven.
Easter recipes you should check out:
- Easter Cupcakes
- Bunny Rolls
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Easter Macaroons
- Old Fashioned Carrot Cake Recipe with Pineapple
MORE HOMEMADE COOKIES:
- Chocolate Cookies with Powdered Sugar
- Mint Meringue Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easy Shortbread Cookies
- Best Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Andes Mint Cookies
RECIPE FOR NEST COOKIES
Easter Nest Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened to room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp coconut extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅓ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- Green food coloring
- 90 Cadbury mini eggs or other egg shaped candies
Instructions
- Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl till smooth. Beat in sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and extracts. Mix well. Stir in the flour and baking powder.
- Roll dough in balls (about the size of ping pongs).
- Place on lightly greased or silpat lined cookie sheets. Make an indentation in each one using the back of a teaspoon.
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Cookies won't brown. Remove from oven and use the spoon to press down the indentation again.
- Remove to cooling racks and let cool completely.
- Mix coconut with a couple of drops of green food coloring in a pint sized mason jar with a lid. Cover and shake till coconut is tinted green.
- Fill nests with coconut, and add a few egg candies.
Notes
Nutrition
(originally published 4/18/2001, updated March 2021)
Whip up a batch of these cute coconut nest cookies. They are sure to brighten up your Easter festivities!
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I made these a couple of years ago because the recipe is so close to my grandmother’s whose recipe I never received. The only difference, and this is more work, is to roll out the dough and cut out with round cutters. With a smaller round cutters, cut out the middle. Then later the cookie with the hole on top of the base round cookie, This provides a “nest” area. These are soo good!
So glad you loved them and that they are easier than the ones your grandmother used to make. I hope they will bring back great memories for years to come!
Planning on making this cookie for Easter Sunday. Should I use salted or unsalted butter.
I always use salted butter because it’s what I have on hand, but unsalted butter would be fine.
I tried making theses cookies this morning a day ahead before Easter . I followed the reciepe EXACTLY AND they did not taste good at all! I cooked them for 10-12 minutes and did not like the cream cheese in them or the extracts !!Did not taste like a cookie . Very disappointing ????Word to anyone who wants to make them – use a sugar cookie recipe instead ! Needless to say , we won’t be having dessert this Easter !!
I am so sorry that you didn’t like them. I know it’s frustrating when a recipe doesn’t turn out the way you planned. These are different than regular sugar cookies, but we love cream cheese and almond extract at our house, so that may be why we liked them. I haven’t tried them with sugar cookie dough, but I bet it would work just fine. That is a great suggestion for others who may have similar tastes!
I’m so sorry to vent out of frustration . It’s a beautiful idea and your right – everybody has different taste. I got the sugar cookie idea from other comments and other receipes . Thanks for your e-mail ????
So cute! Totes yummy! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Can the cream cheese be substite for something else? Or go without it?
I don’t know of anything that can be used as a substitute for cream cheese that would work well for these. You can’t leave it out, or the dough will be dry and crumbly. You would probably be better off just using a sugar cookie recipe for the dough. Good luck!
These are absolutely adorable, and my family enjoyed these tasty treats over Easter! Thanks for a great recipe, which I added to my recipe book.
Thank you so much! These were a big easter hit…and delicious!:)
Thank you for sharing this amazing looking recipe. Not only do they sound delish, but they are SO cute! I will have to make these for Easter.
I made these cookies in the past with the exception of…before baking cookies, roll in tinted coconut, then bake. While cookies are hot, place 2-3 jelly beans in each cookie then let them cool. Same cookie, slightly different!
My jelly bean loving boys would love that idea Nancy!
Hi Kara,
How long can these cookies last for?
Thanks.
At my house they get devoured in a couple of days, but my guess is that they would last about a week in an airtight container. Or the cookies could be frozen without the coconut for several months. Hope that helps.
Target has green edible Easter grass
These are so cute!! How many cookies does this recipe yield? Have 3 different Easter events to attend, want to make sure I have enough! 🙂
It’s been awhile, so I can’t remember exactly, but you should get 2-3 dozen out of one batch. It depends on the size of your nests, so you can make them on the smaller size if you need more.
I have seen green string licorice too. That would be a good substitue. Would
of been all over the edible easter grass if I saw that last week. 🙁
Just got pinterest app and your Easter cookies are going to be the first item I am going to make. They look fabulous and I can’t wait for my family to enjoy them!
They have edible Easter grass at Target.
Thanks for the tip about the edible grass!
Love these. Will be making them with my Granddaughter. Thanks
Glad to hear it Peggy! They are a super fun recipe to make with kids. 🙂
I’ll have to make these for my grandkids. I bet you could also use the edible easter grass instead of coconut.
Where do you get edible Easter grass
Should the coconut be sweetened or unsweetened?
I used sweetened. I’m not sure if the unsweetened would work because it’s not as moist and I’m not sure how the food coloring would absorb.
But you could always try it with a small amount first to test it out. Let me know how it works!
How can Amy and Kristen NOT like coconut? How can my very own daughter NOT like coconut? It’s beyond my ability to comprehend, but then my daughter says the same thing about me and cilantro.
I’m making these tonight when I get home from work! They look so cute 🙂
Any other options for a coconut substitute??? I’m not a fan either and not very good with frosting 🙂
Another reader mentioned using edible Easter grass, but I’ve never seen it. Maybe at a cake decorating store?
You should be able to find edible Easter grass at Target (;
Those are the cutest cookies! Oh I hope I make time to try this recipe. So cute!
Donna
Those are so cute And they sound tasty too!
Don’t you need to stick the coconut down into the cookie? Also stick the eggs into the coconut? Thinking of using small drips of powdered sugar mixed with a little water??
When the cookies come out of the oven, you make and indentation in them. You fill that with the coconut, so you shouldn’t need anything to hold it down. Gravity does the job! 🙂
These cookies look great- but I would have to come up with a substitute for the coconut- yuck! 🙂 Maybe some frosting piped to look like grass?
Not that I need to make more cookies. 😉
xoxo,
Amy
Yes, you could totally use green frosting instead. How can you not like coconut you crazy girl! 😉
I saw edible Easter grass at Target the other day! 🙂
I made a thick tinted frosting, and put a sm amount through a garlic press for the nest. Really cute
That is a great idea! And my boys always think frosting is a good thing. 🙂
Adorable!
Those look yummy! It was so great to meet you at CE. Thanks for letting me hang out in your room. Sounds like you had a wonderful time with your family.