Butterscotch Haystacks

Butterscotch Haystacks are an easy, no bake, 2 ingredient cookie. These simple cookies are made with butterscotch chips and crunchy chow mein noodles, but feel free to add in other mix ins such as chocolate, peanut butter, nuts or mini marshmallows.

What are Haystack Cookies? 

If you Google search ‘Haystack Cookies’, you’ll find a lot of variations of these easy, no bake cookies. They are also sometimes called, Chow Mein Noodle Cookies or Haystacks Candy.

Generally, these cookies are made with crunchy chow mein noodles and either butterscotch chips, chocolate chips or a mix of both. Sometimes, peanut butter is added along with other mix ins like nuts etc.

I have always been more fond of the regular butterscotch version for a couple of reasons.

1. Butterscotch is far more tasty and I prefer the purity of all that butterscotch has to offer. I find that everyone I bring these cookies to enjoys the unique twist of butterscotch than average chocolate.
2. The color of the butterscotch makes these actually look like, well, haystacks!

Plus, I love the simplicity of this 2 ingredient cookie recipe. All you need are two pantry ingredients to make these Butterscotch Haystacks.

If you have other mix ins that you want to add, then you definitely could! Use this haystacks recipe as a base to customize and make it your own.

Be sure to get the right chow mein noodles

Don’t confuse these with ramen noodles, fried wonton strips or actual noodles that are meant to be boiled. 

Chow Mein noodles are often sold in a can or larger bag. La Choy is a common brand, but I’ve seen generic store brands too. They are thin, small pieces of fried noodles that are crunchy, a bit salty and usually added to salads (hint: use your leftovers for a mandarin chicken salad -soooo good!)

Chow Mein noodles are pretty much available in mainstream grocery stores, but if you’re having trouble finding them, you can pick some up here on Amazon.

How to make Haystacks

There’s not much to it! 

Melt one bag of butterscotch chips in a large glass bowl. You can do this over a double boiler or in the microwave. If you use the microwave, be sure to do it in 15 second intervals, stirring well in between each so that the chips don’t burn. 

Once the butterscotch chips are melted, add in the chow mein noodles.

Give the noodles a good coating. At this point, add in anything else (some nuts, mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows etc.) Whatever you’re adding, be mindful to only add a handful or so (about a 1/3 cup). If too many ‘extras’ are added, then you won’t have enough butterscotch to coat everything. 

Using two spoons, scoop the coated noodles into bite sized cookies and place them on a tray lined with parchment.

Allow the cookies to set until the butterscotch is hardened. You can speed up this process by sticking the tray in the freezer or fridge.

Butterscotch Haystacks are a delight to have around

Because they are made with pantry ingredients, these cookies will last longer than your average cookie. Given that room temperature can fluctuate, I like to store haystacks in the refrigerator and they will last for a few weeks in there (although, they’ve never made it that long!) You can also freeze them.

Having the ingredients in your pantry means you can make these at a moments notice. Great for parties, potlucks, kids and a lot of folks make them for Christmas cookies.

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