How can I restore NOTES from previous backups or iCloud on my Mac Book Air?

I read a couple of posts how to restore Notes from a backup and none of it has worked. I use Notes mainly because it is easy to store information on my iPhone or on my computer and synchronise this information by use either of the devices.

I recently have used the password function on a note and this note is now in my way. Unfortunately the password is not backed up and I can't recover the password. Now the note cannot be deleted nor I can't remove the password or use the note.

The idea is to restore the notes from backups. I have done several Time Machine Backups but I haven't been able to recover notes from the backup. I also use iCloud to store notes in the cloud and to transfer information via NOTES.

It is not that simple, I can copy the content of the NOTES folder from a backup and paste it into the current folder of my Mac. But that doesn't work. I also tried to log-out from iCloud to make sure it is not overwritten from the cloud. but that does not help either.

I really have no clue how to restore the notes, and I am also not sure how to restore from iCloud and wether this is possible.

This topic is so frustrating and I have no clue what to do - can you help and do you have experiences?

Thanks,
Uwe

PS: I use El Capitan 10.11.6 and Notes Version 4.2