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    Home » Recipes » Chocolate Cookies

    Chocolate Haystacks

    Published: Dec 11, 2022 by Audrey · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    These quick no-bake chocolate haystack cookies are perhaps one of the easiest type of cookie to make. No baking required, and endless variations to suit your mood.

    The end result? A chocolatey, nutty, crunchy and chewy delicious little treat.

    Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Haystacks

    Haystack Cookies Variation Suggestions:

    One of my favorite things about haystack cookies is how easy it is to play around with the flavors.

    I went here with almonds as my base, because chocolate and almonds and raspberries just work so well together. But you could easily go with chopped / sliced pecans (my other favorite!), or hazelnuts, or pine nuts, or... [choose your favorite nuts or seeds that pair with chocolate]. And that's basically it!

    Vegan Chocolate Haystack Cookies

    I used two different textures of almonds just to give it a bit more texture. The sliced almonds I used were quite thin, while the slivered almonds gave this a nice crunch.

    If you like more chewiness, you can also add in some dried cherry pieces or raisins, if you're a chocolate + raisins kind of person (I'm totally not! :x But it's my husband's favorite... there's no accounting for tastes haha).

    Bits of chopped dates would give it a hint of chewy caramel, as another option.

    See, told you, lots of options here! :)

    Vegan Chocolate Haystack Cookies

    You can also try another delicious variation with toasted (and fully cooled off) nuts to deepen their flavor and crunch. Or throw in some toasted coconut, for a tropical twist.

    Or go for a mix of nuts if you prefer. That's something I love about this type of recipe -- it's a good one for using up all those little odds and ends of nuts and seeds in your pantry :) (P.S. If you like this concept, you'll probably love this sunflower slices recipe as well, which allows you to achieve two goals: clean up your pantry and end up with a delicious superseed dessert!).

    As for the chocolate: you'll notice there's no sweetener in this recipe, so the sweetness level and overall flavor greatly depends on your choice of chocolate. I recommend using a brand you love for the best flavor. White chocolate can be a fun way to go here too btw.

    Grain-Free Vegan Chocolate Haystack Cookies

    One Final Tip on Chocolate Haystacks:

    If you do play around with variations, just be sure to keep the overall recipe proportions more or less the same (i.e. chocolate to nuttiness ratio) so that the cookies stick together properly -- unless you're the adventurous baker type, in which case, I totally want to hear what you made and how it turned out! Leave a comment to tell me more.

    Last but not least, if you're looking for more holiday cookies ideas, be sure to check out this cookie recipe collection of some of my favorites.

    Print

    Chocolate Haystacks

    GF Vegan Chocolate Haystacks
    Print Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 reviews

    These quick no-bake chocolate haystack cookies are a breeze to make, and very easy to play around with to create other variations to suit your mood.

    • Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
    • Prep Time: 20 minutes
    • Cook Time: 5
    • Total Time: 25 minutes
    • Yield: 5 cookies
    • Category: Cookies, Chocolate
    • Method: No-Bake
    • Cuisine: Dessert, Vegan
    • Diet: Vegan

    Ingredients

    Chocolate Haystacks

    • ½ c non-dairy chocolate chips
    • 1 Tbsp natural almond butter
    • ¼ cup thinly sliced almonds
    • ¼ cup slivered almonds
    • 1/16 tsp salt

    Optional Toppings

    • 5 whole almonds
    • freeze dried raspberries, crumbled (or dried rose petals as an alternative)

     

    Instructions

    1. Place a small metal cookie sheet in the freezer. Have a piece of parchment paper handy, as well as any toppings you are using.

    2. Using a double boiler method melt the chocolate until smooth. Add in all remaining chocolate haystacks ingredients and briefly stir to combine. Remove from heat.

    3. Pull out the metal cookie tray from the freezer.** Cover with parchment paper.

    4. Using a cookie scoop with a release trigger (I used a 1 tablespoon size one*) (or using two spoons as an alternative), scoop out some of the mixture and set it on the parchment paper on the cold tray. Repeat with the remaining mixture, leaving a bit of space between the cookies for the mixture to spread out a touch. Sprinkle / decorate with desired toppings right away before the mixture sets fully.

    6. Place the tray in the fridge for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to fully cool off and set. Enjoy! Keep cookies refrigerated or at room temp (unless it's hot enough for chocolate to melt where you are, in which case fridge it is!).

    Notes

    *Note: you can make these cookies as big or as small as you like, so the amount of cookies you get can vary. I got 5 out of this recipe.

    **The tray needs to be cold so that when the cookies are placed on it they solidify faster without the chocolate puddling out too much.

    Keywords: vegan chocolate haystacks, vegan chocolate haystack cookies, gluten-free vegan chocolate haystacks, grain-free vegan chocolate haystacks, dairy-free chocolate haystacks, gluten-free chocolate haystacks, grain-free haystacks

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @unconventionalbaker on Instagram and hashtag it ##unconventionalbaker

    Grain-Free Vegan Chocolate Haystack Cookies
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    More Chocolate Cookies

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Andrea Lee says

      December 11, 2022 at 11:08 am

      Aloha Audrey, I ❤️all your creations ❣️😋
      God bless you for sharing 🙏🏼
      Andrea Lee

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        December 15, 2022 at 1:14 pm

        Thank you so much! Much appreciated! Happy baking :)

        Reply

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