Haystack Cookies with Peanut Butter Recipe

Haystack Cookies with Peanut Butter and crunchy chow mien noodles are a delicious variation of our normal no-bake Haystack cookies with just butterscotch chips.

These haystack cookies combine creamy peanut butter with baking chips to create a really rich and amazing cookie that can be ready to enjoy in literally minutes.

This is the time of the year when treats abound and you have to bring cookies to literally everything.

From school classroom parties to office work events or even to set out for Santa, you need a wide variety of treats. The biggest problem with holiday and Christmas treats is that they take SO long and mess up the kitchen, both things I don’t always want to do.

I can appreciate a seriously amazing baked chocolate chip cookie but sometimes I want to be in, out, and on my way to eating things versus cooking things.

These haystack cookies with peanut butter solve both problems. Literally, melt, set, and eat, you can be done with making these in a hot 15 minutes and be on your way. SERIOUSLY.

One of the differences in these cookies versus the traditional haystack cookie recipe is that these include a variety of peanut butter.

In my other recipe, you simply use melted baking chips and your crunchy noodles but in these, you combine melted peanut butter to tone down one flavor into two. Out of the two, I think it’s more of a preference than anything and I really love these the most.

Peanut Butter Haystack Cookies

This no bake recipe is really easy to make!

You still need butterscotch chips (or honestly, if you find peanut butter chips, white chocolate or even regular milk chocolate, this recipe will still work), chow mein noodles in a can, and creamy peanut butter.

This recipe makes 20 haystacks (This could vary depending on how big you stack yours).

Scroll to the bottom for a printable version of this post, including all measurements and instructions, so you can follow along in your kitchen without being on your phone.

Here is what ingredients you need to gather to get started:

• Butterscotch Chips
• Chow Mein Noodles
• Peanut Butter
• Holiday Sprinkles

Holiday Sprinkles

• Non-Pareils – These are typically my favorite kind of sprinkles because they are easy to apply, vibrant in color, and taste pretty good
• Peppermint crunch – You could also add a bit of crushed-up peppermint to your peanut butter haystacks. This time of the year they come in a sprinkle can
• Sanding sugars – Sanding sugars are great for no bake cookies, but often the sugar is hard to SEE and the colors blend, so if you want your Christmas decorations to stand out, just be aware
• Sea Salt – because these haystacks cookies include peanut butter, sea salt makes a fun topping to get some of that salty-sweet flavor
• Shapes – Right now you can find tons of shapes from snowflakes to trees, gingerbread to mini Santa.

No bake Peanut Butter Haystacks

Prep – Add parchment paper to a baking sheet

Melt down Baking Chips & Peanut Butter Together – Melt down your butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl, along with your peanut butter, and heat for 20 seconds at a time.

Pull out, stir, 20 seconds back in, until completely melted. Be careful, the chips (and bowl) can get quite hot.

DO NOT OVERHEAT or you will end up with a hard mess.

This process takes only about 1-2 minutes or less in total.

Create Your Peanut Butter Haystack Cookies

Add your crunchy noodles to peanut butter and melted butterscotch together in a bowl and stir until well combined.

This mixture will be quite thick at this point.

Set – Use a 1 tablespoon scoop (or 2 spoons) to carefully lift out the haystacks and add in little stacks on your parchment paper. We were able to get 20 cookies out of our mixture.

Sprinkles – While still not set, go ahead and add your sprinkles.

Freeze – Now put pan in freezer to harden, will take 5-7 minutes and then you can transfer to a cookie tin or zip lock bag.

You can also put in fridge but may take a few minutes longer to harden.

Haystack Recipe Variations

• potato sticks – you will probably need more than one can
• pretzel sticks – these will be larger cookies as peanut butter sticks are longer
• corn flakes – cornflakes in haystack cookies are often used with green melting chocolates to create a holiday Christmas wreath!

More Amazing Dessert Recipes

Looking for more delicious dessert recipes?

1. Slutty Cheesecake Bars – Slutty Cheesecake bars with cream cheese, cherry filling, and a cookie crumble square really get around. You won’t need to apologize when you ask for seconds (and the recipe) of this perfect cheesecake bar dessert.
2. Microwave Peanut Butter Brittle – This microwave peanut brittle recipe is an easy sweet, salty and buttery peanut brittle that takes minutes to make. No- fuss, full proof method that requires no stove top candy thermometer! Vintage Christmas dessert that easily gifts and lasts for weeks!
3. Crock Pot Apple Pie Dump Cake – With apple pie filling and cake mix, this simple dessert tastes just like an apple pie- without the work. Complimentary to ice cream or on its own, the pecans add a great texture. Look no further!
4. Christmas Cream Cheese Mints – Cream cheese mints are a fantastic no-bake alternative for a quick and fun appetizer or dessert that everyone loves. And these super festive Christmas Cream cheese mints are so easy to make that they can be whipped up and ready to serve in as little as 30 minutes.
5. Marshmallow Fluff Dip – Marshmallow Fluff dip with crushed candy canes make a delicious way to dip, dip, dip and enjoy peppermint perfection this holiday season. READER FAVORITE!
6. Learn how to make rock Candy – Cinnamon rock candy is a time honored old-fashioned Christmas treat perfect to pass on as gifts.