Yesterday Richard and I think we invented a cookie…we explored the darker side of Haystacks. I don’t know what to call them, but instead of butterscotch and peanuts we used what was on hand in our snowy world and subbed dark chocolate chips, pistachios, and orange flavored dried cranberries for the usual ingredients. Because Richard was involved a small hit of cayenne was also part of the fun. Haystacks are simply non-bake cookies made with a can of chow mein noodles as the staring ingredient so really who can say that there have to be rules about what else goes in them. Of course you could point out, and rightly so, that our cookies did not resemble a haystack in the least. They sort of looked like bunches of kindling- maybe not such a bad thing for a snow day cookie.
Another good thing about this particular batch of cookies was that they hardened in record time sitting on our very chilly screened in porch. And one more positive thought, it only takes as long as melting the chocolate and a quick stir to put these together. A tiny sprinkle of sea salt on top was my “dusting of snow”. My sister Mary is a great fan of the original Haystack, but she is also a great fan of chocolate. If I, a) had any left, and b) was not living in a snow filled valley, I might take her some to see what she thinks. Oh well – there’s always tomorrow for a Kindling Stack to go on the road! I think you will love these!
Ingredients
1 can chow mein noodles (5 oz or about 2 ½ cups)
12 oz package of chocolate chips
½ cup dried cranberries (we had orange flavored ones)
¾ cups shelled pistachios
¼ tsp or less cayenne pepper
Sea salt to lightly top
Directions
Put chow mein noodles, cranberries, pistachios and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler set over boiling water. (You can use the microwave and a heat resistant pan if you prefer.)
Pour melted chocolate over ingredients in the bowl and stir to combine.
Drop tablespoons of the mixture on wax paper to cool.
Sprinkle with a touch of sea salt if desired.
Enjoy!!
