One of the things I remember most about Christmas as a child was going to my great grandmother's house and sneaking loads of chocolate covered "haystacks" off of the buffet. She would set out all sorts of chocolate covered goodies but the haystacks were and still are my very favorite. In case you are wondering haystacks are simply those dry chow mein noodles that come in a can and then we cover them in chocolate. You can use just about anything you want to dip in chocolate and have yummy Christmas candy at your own home in no time! The picture above is of mini pretzel sticks that I broke into smaller pieces, put into melted chocolate mixture and spooned into clusters. The chocolate I grew up with and prefer to use is actually a mix of half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half butterscotch chips. The addition of the butterscotch is the secret to good Christmas candy! Things you might want to cover in chocolate include pretzels, dry chow mein noodles, peanuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, and Ritz crackers dipped in the chocolate are good too! Place clusters on baking sheet lined with wax paper and set in fridge to firm. I store my Christmas candy in layers of wax paper in Tupperware in the fridge. These are easy for kids to help with also! What kinds of Christmas candy do you like making??
ooh being pregnant I want to make everything this year! i have been BAKING about once a week , crazy!
we love to take the mini pretzels and top with a hershey kiss, toss on a cookie sheet in the oven on VERY LOW for a minute or 2 ...then take out and press in 3 M&M's , I put in the fridge after they are hardened usually...SALTY SWEET GOODNESS! Can you believe I can't find MINI pretzels over here ..so annoying!!! No pretzels for us this year :(
Posted by: MonicaA | December 12, 2008 at 02:34 PM
I'm munching on Newman's spicy salt and pepper pretzels as I read, and I'm just thinking they would not be improved with chocolate! But I love the chow mein noodle idea!
Posted by: barbara | December 12, 2008 at 08:25 PM
I'm munching on Newman's spicy salt and pepper pretzels as I read, and I'm just thinking they would not be improved with chocolate! But I love the chow mein noodle idea!
Posted by: barbara | December 12, 2008 at 08:30 PM
I love haystacks! I like the secret ingredient of butterscotch chips...who would of thought! I actually have NEVER made Christmas candy. Our tradition is to make pizelles (sp?).
Posted by: laurie - magpie ethel | December 12, 2008 at 08:30 PM
I love haystacks! I like the secret ingredient of butterscotch chips...who would of thought! I actually have NEVER made Christmas candy. Our tradition is to make pizelles (sp?).
Posted by: laurie - magpie ethel | December 12, 2008 at 08:31 PM
My aunt makes these and calls them chinese noodle cookies. She also adds chopped peanuts and coconut..yum!
Posted by: Jan | December 27, 2008 at 03:43 PM
Try Peanut Butter (not too much) between two Ritz
crackers. Dip and coat them completely in a bowl of melted white or regular chocolate. Let the excess drip off your spoon, and place on a waxed paper lined sheet. I like to lightly drizzle the white ones with the chocolate chocolate,and the chocolate with the white, for a bit of fancy. When your sheet is full, chill until set. These are a holiday tradition around here and are looked forward to by all of our friends.
Posted by: Andrea Hartman | January 06, 2009 at 11:31 PM
This brought a little tear to my eye! ...I love these "cookies"! My gramma still makes these at Christmas time and I of course, end up eating ALL of them! I've got to show her this online. She'll love it!
Thanks!
Posted by: Emma Lou | August 11, 2009 at 01:35 PM