A no-bake cookie made with chow mein noodles. These are a vintage no-bake treat that generations of Americans have been making since 1963. It first appeared in the famous Betty Crocker Cooky Book (yes they spelled “cookie” like that) as a variation of the “Ting-A-Ling”, but somehow the Haystacks took off while the Ting-A-Ling never did. They didn’t originally have peanut butter in them (see note *), but who added that and why was beyond my culinary sleuthing skills.
Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 package or 6 ounces butterscotch morsels
1 can can chow mein noodles
Directions
- Melt peanut butter and butterscotch together. Can be done on the stove top or in a microwave. Pour over noodles; mix well. Drop by 2-tablespoon blobs on waxed paper; freeze for a couple of hours until firm. May be stored in a loose fitting topped cookie jar. Makes about 30, depending on how large you make them.
Notes
- * The original Haystack recipe:
12 ounces of butterscotch morsels
1 cup Spanish peanuts
1 to 2 cups chow mein noodles
Directions are similar to above. - Dann Woeller, The Food Etymologist, has an incredibly well-researched article on the History of the Haystack.
- Photo by Tom Britt under Creative Commons license.