birds' nest cookies

My mom was here this weekend -- hooray for extra help around the house! -- and in between all of our baby-related activities we had to fit in some springtime cookie making. It's a long-established tradition that my mom makes these darling little birds' nests for us around Easter time, and since they're chametz, we have to gobble them up before Passover starts on Friday night. (Won't be a problem -- they're delicious!)

Here's the recipe, which makes around 3 dozen cookies:

one package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy is best)
one package chow mein noodles (you probably won't use quite the whole bag)
two cups small, egg-like candies (we use Whoppers mini robin eggs, but jelly beans would be cute too)

Combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals, pausing to stir, until melted. (Alternately, melt in a saucepan over the stove.) Slowly add the chow mein noodles, tossing with two forks/spoons like you would a salad. Once the noodles are sufficiently coated (you don't want it to be too goopy, so keep adding noodles until it seems right), drop golfball-sized "nests" onto a cookie tray lined with waxed paper (or into individual muffin cups works too). Press two candies into the center of each one. When all the cookies are assembled, pop the tray into the fridge or freezer to set.

You could probably tweak this recipe in lots of ways (leave out the peanut butter, try butterscotch chips, etc.) If you have a different version, please share -- I'd love to hear about it!