Dessert Haystacks *As Seen on CT Style News 8*

Watch all three segments:  00:34 – 1:50 , 10:42 – 18:08, 27:12 – 27:51.

These are quick, easy, affordable and fun to make! My basic recipe uses semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can make them your own by substituting milk chocolate, butterscotch, white chocolate, dark chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, mint or peanut butter flavored chips. You can also mix two different packages to combine flavors such as one bag of dark chocolate chips and one bag of peanut butter chips.

Enjoy them as is or have fun adding mix-ins of your choice. If you’re feeling creative, you can incorporate the flavor profile of your favorite candy into a haystack such as an Almond Joy version using chocolate chips, coconut and almonds.

     Chocolate/almond/coconut                 Butterscotch/toffee                White chocolate/MnM

Ingredients:

2 (12 oz.) packages semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 (5 oz.) cans chow mein noodles

Optional additional mix-ins such as nuts, mini MnMs, coconut, toffee, marshmallows, mini Reese’s cups, colorful non-perils, sprinkles etc.

Instructions:

Cover a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Boil water in a medium-sized pot. Pour package of chocolate chips into a smaller saucepan and place the saucepan in the boiling water to serve as a double broiler. Melt the chocolate by stirring constantly.

If chocolate isn’t melting properly, stir in a splash of milk.

Place chow mein noodles in a large bowl, and pour melted chocolate on top. Stir immediately to coat evenly with the chocolate. Incorporate additional candy, if using.

Drop by spoonfuls (I use an ice cream scoop!) onto waxed paper. Freeze for about 10-15 minutes, until hardened, if eating immediately. If making ahead of time, keep haystacks in the freezer until closer to serving time, or move to refrigerator after freezing. Serve at room temperature, but feel free to try them cold as well!

Chow down and wonder how something with so few ingredients can be so incredibly addictive.

Want to make the s’mores casserole I served up to the hosts? Get the recipe here.