Baby Chicks: Barnyard Treats and Reads Series

Spring is here! In honor of this season when new life is in full force,  we want to bring you a special series: “Barnyard Treats and Reads.” Each week, we’ll share a creative way that you can transform Nutter Butter cookies (the treats) into one of our favorite barnyard animals! We will also give you suggestions for fun and informative books to share with your children, featuring the same animal as that week’s treat! What could go better together than a tasty treat and a good read?

This week, our barnyard creature is the chick. The adorable, yellow baby chicken is a prominent image during springtime, particularly around Easter.  Whether your children or young or old, they will definitely enjoy making and eating these whimsical, chick-inspired Nutter Butter cookies while learning more about chickens, eggs, and chicks!

The Treat: Chick-Inspired Nutter Butter Cookies

To get started,  you are going to need white, yellow, and orange melting chocolate, yellow sanding sugar, coconut oil, decorative eyes (also flowers, etc.) and Nutter Butter Cookies. (For the full recipe with instructions, be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this post!)

Using a pan, a double boiler, and ramekins, melt the different colored chocolates. Add just a little bit of coconut oil to each one to help create a smooth consistency. When the chocolate is melted, line up the yellow chocolate, the Nutter Butters, and the yellow sanding sugar.

Use a wand or fork to dip each Nutter Butter cookie into the yellow chocolate until it is completely coated. Make sure to hold the coated cookies over the chocolate-filled bowl so that the excess chocolate drips back into the bowl (not onto your counter tops).

After coating the cookie, immediately place it onto your plate of yellow sanding sugar.  Get it good and covered with the sparkly yellow stuff! I love how this step makes the chicks look kind of like their Easter candy counterpart–Peeps!

(Sidenote: This is definitely a great treat to make for Easter, too).

After your chick cookies are covered in the sanding sugar, set them aside on a wire rack to harden and dry. Next, it’s time to get creative!

First, add the candy eyes by dipping a toothpick into the yellow chocolate and dabbing a spot onto each candy eye before sticking it onto the “head” of the chick (you decide which end the head will be.)

Next, fill a piping bag with the melted orange chocolate and do a quick triangle design for the beak of each chick and two small “W” shapes towards the bottom of the body for the feet.

For some of my chick cookies, I also like to create a little cracked shell “hat,” to make it look like they’ve just been born. If you want to do the same, it’s really simple! All you have to do is fill a piping bag with the melted white chocolate and do a quick, jagged-edge design on the top of the head, then smooth it out to fill in. After that, go bananas with whatever extra decoration you’d like to do. As you can see, we had fun with these.

The Reads: Books for All Ages About Chicks, Chickens, and Eggs

Now that you’ve got your chick treats made (and probably eaten a couple), let’s talk about some awesome books you can incorporate into your study of the chick! Here are some of our top suggestions: Click the title of each book to go directly to Amazon.

Bedtime for Chickies

For Age: 1- 4 

This padded board book is full of run rhymes and tells about the tough task of getting tired little chicks to sleep– perfect for toddlers!

Let’s Hatch Chicks: Explore the Wonderful World of Chickens and Eggs by Lisa Steele

Age: 4-8

A fun, fictional story that teaches children about the life cycle of a chicken in terms that they will understand!

Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Ruth Heller

Age 5 – 8

This is a fantastic book! As a matter of fact, check out the rest of Ruth Heller’s books (click here) because she has wonderful books for young readers.  Use the topic of chicks and chickens as a jumping off place to explore all kinds of different oviparous animals with this fun and informative book!

A Kid’s Guide to Keeping Chickens: Best Breeds, Creating a Home, Care and Handling, Outdoor Fun, Crafts and Treats Paperback

Age: 8- Teen

This unique and engaging book will teach kids some fascinating facts about chickens and eggs, from how to create the best chicken habitat to yummy egg recipes.

The Chicken Chick’s Guide to Backyard Chickens: Simple Steps for Healthy, Happy Hens by Kathy Shea Mormino

Ages Older Teen-Adult

We actually used this when we had chickens. It is very thorough and detailed!  It is an extremely readable and informative guide to raising chickens. It is perfect for the adult (or teen) who currently raises chickens or is looking for information about how to get started!

We hope you all enjoy this week’s “Barnyard Treats and Reads!” We’d love to know how you enjoyed the Nutter Butter chicks and which book you decided to check out!