Camp Nest Clusters
Toasted coconut and chocolate pressed into nests, with candy eggs in the middle. Made at home, carried cold-proof, eaten on a rock.
- calories
- 215
- weight
- 1.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 143
- protein
- 2 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Day hike
- Car camping
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Unsweetened shredded coconut | 2 cups | toast it dry in a skillet first |
|---|---|---|
| Rolled oats | 1 cup | |
| Chocolate chips | 1 1/2 cups | semisweet holds shape better than milk |
| Coconut oil | 2 tbsp | keeps the chocolate from cracking |
| Candy-coated chocolate eggs | 24 pieces | three per nest |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- At home, toast the coconut in a dry pan over low heat until it goes tan. Stir constantly. It burns in the ten seconds you look away.
- Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil over the lowest heat you have, or in short bursts in a microwave. Pull it before it is fully melted and stir the last of it smooth.
- Fold in the coconut, oats, and salt until every strand is coated.
- Spoon eight mounds onto parchment. Press a thumb into each center to make a well, and set three candy eggs in it.
- Chill until firm, at least an hour. Do not skip this or they will not hold.
- On the trail, eat straight from the bag. No stove, no water, no pot.
This started as an Easter table decoration and it turns out the structure is exactly right for a pack. There is no water in it, so nothing spoils, and the chocolate is the binder rather than an icing — it sets into a solid puck instead of smearing. Toasted coconut and oats give it enough body to hold a shape after eight hours of getting jostled.
The coconut oil matters more than it looks. Straight chocolate goes brittle and shatters when cold, which is what happens in a pack at dawn. A little added fat keeps the set soft enough to bite without turning greasy. Chill them fully before packing or they will slump into one shared mass.
Packing
Once set, each nest goes in its own small bag or a paper cupcake liner, then all of them into one hard-sided container. Loose in a pack they become crumbs with eggs in them. Above 80°F the chocolate softens, so pack them deep and against your water reservoir.
Variations
- Swap half the oats for crushed pretzel sticks if you want salt against the chocolate.
- Peanut butter, two tablespoons melted in with the chocolate, adds fat and holds the nests together harder.
- Dried cranberries in place of the candy eggs makes a version that survives heat better.
https://zenandhoney.com/easter-treat-ideas