egg nest sugar cookies

Last month, a neighbor adopted lab puppy. Because puppylore says you can multiply lab puppies' weights at 14 weeks by 2.5 to estimate their adult weight, we started a weight pool and had a Yappy Hour to see whose guess came the closest.

Yield: 24 cookies
175 calories per cookie
Active time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

ingredients
3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes
2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup of M&Ms

preparation
1. Spread the coconut flakes out on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees until golden brown, about 10 minutes. You'll want to mix the coconut flakes occasionally for even browning.  Set aside and increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. See step 9 of "oreo cupcakes" for more on creaming butter.

3. Add in the vanilla extract and egg, beating until well incorporated, about 30 seconds.

4. Fold in the flour and salt, beating on a low speed until shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute.

5. Using your hands, gently knead the dough inside of the bowl and form a solid mass large bowl.

6. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

7. By the tablespoon, form a ball and roll it in the toasted coconut. Use your fingers to form a well in the middle of the ball and place on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.

8. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

9. Remove the cookies from the oven and garnish the nest well with M&M candies. You can used colored frosting to jazz them up.

Original recipe found on the back of a bag of M&Ms.