Birds Nest Cookies

While I am definitely not an "artsy-craftsy" type of mom, I like to think I am relatively creative in the kitchen! I had the idea kicking around in my head for at least a week of trying to see if I could make a "thumbprint" cookie. I didn't want to use jam in the middle, but rather, I wanted the cookie to ultimately look like a birds nest. Okay, once I made the cookies and baked them, I had to figure out what the "grass" should be made of. Well, I had some coconut leftover from the ambrosia dessert salad I made a few weeks ago. Hmm, white didn't seem quite the right "color" for the "grass." After taking a quick glance into where I keep my spices, I found some food coloring. Yeah!  I put five drops into a zip top sandwich bag, sealed it up and shook the bag about ten times until the coconut turned green. The last time I was at Kroger, I had picked up a bag of jelly beans, which just so happened to be the right size to be the "eggs" in the nests. Cool - I was able to make these cookies with ingredients I had on hand. I love when that happens! This afternoon, I took Dominic's amazing music therapist a few of these cookies. She always gets a big smile on her face when she sees my "bakery" coming. I think that means she likes it :) Well, we love how much she has taught him!!!!!

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/4 cups white flour

For The Inside of the Nest:

1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut
5 drops of green food coloring


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, put the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and egg yolks. Cream by hand with a large spoon or with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the baking powder and gradually add the flour, about a 1/2 cup at a time. Stir with large spoon until well combined. Roll into 30 equal sized balls, roughly a little smaller than a golf ball. Place 15 cookies at a time on an ungreased cookie sheet. With your thumb, press down in the middle of each cookie, so your thumb is almost touching the bottom of the cookie sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the cookies are starting to turn brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for five minutes.  Remove to wire rack to cool completely. To make the "grass" for the inside of the nest, put the coconut inside a zip top sandwich bag. Put five drops of green food coloring in, seal it up and shake. Distribute the "grass" between the 30 cookies. I used jelly beans for the "eggs." Have fun!