Don’t get me wrong, baking is great but sometimes you just need a quick and easy, no fuss no-bake treat that you know everyone will love! Enter my Chocolate Butterscotch Haystacks! Melted chocolate and melted butterscotch chips mix with crunchy chow mein noodles for the perfect drop and go recipe.
The flavor combination is a match made in sweet tooth heaven and it will only take you 15 minutes to fully assemble this no bake dessert.
These chocolate butterscotch haystacks consist of crunchy chow mein noodles that are covered with melted chocolate and butterscotch chips and left to set hard. They are much-loved chocolatey treats, often enjoyed around the Christmas holidays but many adaptations to this recipe mean that they can easily be made for various holidays and occasions.
With minimal simple ingredients and hardly any time required, these no-bake Chocolate Haystacks are an easy treat to enjoy with the family or to be served at parties and will be a huge hit. These can easily be great Christmas cookies by dressing them up with holiday sprinkles and added ingredients or keep them simple – either way, they’ll be flying off the table in no time!
If you love easy and delicious chocolate treats like these haystacks then you’re going to want to also try this two ingredient chocolate peanut butter fudge and these slightly more involved, but extra indulgent Millionaire bars.
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🍫 Ingredients:
- Butterscotch chips and milk chocolate chips – use high quality chips for best results
- Chow mein noodles – these crunchy noodles are sold in a can or tin in most grocery stores.
For a full list of simple easy ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable easy recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Variations and Substitutions
While the Chocolate version of this haystack cookie recipe is particularly popular during Christmas time, there are other variations to this recipe that you can enjoy, some of which are suited to specific holidays. See below for some alternative haystack recipes:
- For an Easter Haystack: This Chocolate Haystack can also easily resemble a bird’s nest with a little positioning on your cookie tray. Add candy in the shape of eggs and Peeps marshmallows (or mini marshmallows) to place on your haystack nest for a cute Easter-inspired haystack treat!
- For a Valentine’s Day Haystack: Use white chocolate instead to cover the chow mein noodles and then sprinkle your haystack with the perfect addition of pink and red sprinkles of your choice or colored sanding sugar!
- For a Halloween Haystack: Color some white chocolate with green food coloring and fix some spooky candy eyes around your haystack while it’s setting!
- For a Nutty Haystack: Add salted peanuts (about ½ cup), and smooth or crunchy peanut butter (about ½ cup) to this recipe, and omit the chocolate chips unless you want a chocolate peanut butter haystack. You can also sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top of these for an alternative yummy taste.
- Vary your chips: dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips can all be swapped in. You will need 2 cups of chips per 5 oz. chow mein noodles.
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: Place the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a microwave-safe medium to large bowl.
Step 2: Heat in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until chips are mostly melted.
Step 3: Step 3: Stop heating and continue stirring until the melted chocolate mixture is fully melted and smooth.
Step 4: Stir in a full container of chow mein noodles. Stir gently until all the noodles are fully coated in the chocolate mixture.
If you overheat the chocolate mixture, it can scorch, causing it to form hard lumps. Scorched chocolate is unsalvageable and you will need to start over. Heat in short intervals, 30 seconds at a time, and stop before the chocolate is fully melted.
Step 6: Use two spoons to scoop small piles of the “haystack” mixture and drop mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Step 7: Step 7: Allow the haystacks to set at room temperature and solidify before serving.
Recipe Tips for Chocolate Haystacks
- It’s important that you don’t burn the melted chocolate and butterscotch chips while microwaving the ingredients. If overcooked, you’ll end up with a solid and clumpy mixture that won’t incorporate with the noodles. To prevent this, don’t heat for more than 30 seconds at a time and stir well between each interval. When the chips are mostly melted, you can stop heating and just stir until the mixture is smooth.
- You can substitute peanut butter chips, semisweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips for the butterscotch chips.
- Fold your chow mein noodles into the chocolate butterscotch mix instead of vigorously stirring as excessive stirring is likely to break the noodles and you’ll end up with short matchstick piles instead of haystacks!
- While this recipe makes 12 haystacks, you can easily double the ingredient quantities if you are catering to a larger crowd or wish to make more ahead of a busy holiday season.
- While you need to be gentle with the melted chocolate and butterscotch haystack mixture, if you take too long to incorporate the noodles, the mixture may cool and begin to harden. If this happens, simply pop the mixture in the microwave for 15-30 seconds and then continue to fold the ingredients.
- Make sure to assemble your haystacks on a parchment-lined or wax paper lined cookie tray. It will prevent them from sticking to surfaces and will create ease of transferring your haystacks to the fridge or freezer for faster setting if preferred.
Recipe FAQs
Store these Chocolate Haystacks in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. In both cases, you should ensure that they are kept in an airtight container.
To prevent your Chocolate Haystacks from sticking to the bottom of the container, line the container with a sheet of parchment paper.
No, the chow mein noodles used in this recipe are not gluten-free but you could source gluten-free brands to make these chocolate butterscotch haystacks gluten-free.
Other No-Bake Desserts That You’ll Love!
If you try these Chocolate Butterscotch Haystacks or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Chocolate Butterscotch Haystacks
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 5 oz. container of chow mein noodles
Instructions
- Place the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until chips are mostly melted.
- Stop heating and continue stirring until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.
- Stir in a full container of chow mein noodles. Stir gently until all the noodles are fully coated in the chocolate mixture.
- Use two spoons to scoop small piles of the “haystack” mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Allow the haystacks to set and solidify before serving.
- Storage:
- Keep leftover haystacks in a cool location (or in the fridge or freezer). They will stay good for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator up to 3 months in the freezer in an airtight container.
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Notes
- Be careful not to burn the chocolate and butterscotch chips when heating in the microwave.
- Stir the chow mein noodles into the melted chocolate-butterscotch. Some will break and that’s okay.
- Easily double this recipe if serving a larger crowd.
- Soften the haystack mixture for 15-30 seconds in the microwave if it starts to get too hard to work with.
- Always use parchment paper to line the tray. It will help prevent mess and the haystacks from sticking to any surface you add them to.
Nutrition
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