Chocolate Haystacks

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.

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!

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! :)

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.

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.

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