Salty Caramel and Dark Chocolate Bird's Nests

Recipe for Salty Caramel and Dark Chocolate Bird's Nests

This Easter I invited some of my mommy friends and their families over for an Easter dinner and all-out toddler insane-fest.  To really get the toddler blood pumping so they could do the best possible job of destroying my apartment, I made a decadent desert with pretzels, dark chocolate, caramel and Jordan almonds.  Once the sugar had mainlined in their little bodies we kept it going by doing an egg hunt with plastic eggs filled with Fruit Loops.  By the way, if your looking for the perfect snack that is colorful and sticky to have ground into your floors and carpets, Fruit Loops is it.  The adults enjoyed bloody mary's, and whiskey and we all enjoyed the amazing potluck dishes that my friends brought over.  Blue cheese biscuits, asparagus ragu, mac and cheese and a delicious ham were all on the menu followed by an Eastery treat of Bird's Nests.  A super fun day for my husband and I and especially memorable Easter for Ruby.

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb (2 cups) dark melting chocolate
• 4 cups pretzel sticks
• 1/2 lb Jordan almonds
• 1 cup caramel

Directions: 

Melt chocolate over low heat in a saucepan.  Once melted, add the pretzel sticks and use a wooden spoon to bread the sticks up and coat them with chocolate.  Line a muffin tin with muffin papers.  Pour the chocolate and pretzels into each cup and make an indentation for the eggs.  Put in the refrigerator for about an hour or until the chocolate is cold.  Put the caramels into a coffee mug and microwave until melted (about 45 seconds) use a spoon to drizzle the caramel over the top of the baskets.  Push three Jordan almonds into the center of each basket.   Return to the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.  Remove paper from each basket and plate.