Haystack Cookies are a simple no-bake dessert or treat made by mixing noodles or pretzels with a luscious combination of melted chocolate (and sometimes other additions like marshmallows, peanut butter, shredded coconut, and more) for mounds of chocolatey goodness that set up firm and crunchy.

For many centuries before modern farm equipment could create bales, hay was cut and stacked before being moved to the barn to store for the winter.

Sweet and crunchy haystacks earn their name because when crispy noodles or pieces of pretzel sticks are used along with a few other ingredients they pile up to resemble miniature stacks of hay.

But the original recipes for haystacks contain butter and a ton of sugar (2 cups of sugar). Yes you read that right – 2 whole cups. That is just not acceptable any more in these days of us being more aware of what we put in our bodies.

This recipe is the new and improved version of the classic no-bake treat you remember from the 80s and 90s. It’s a lighter (yet just as tasty) version.

Overhauling and ‘healthifying’ this recipe was one of the easiest things I have done.  The loads of refined sugar has gone, coconut oil replaces butter and oil, oats and coconut are subbed in to replace refined white flour and help make them a bit healthier but just as tasty!

The good news about Haystack Cookies is though they are dense in calories, they are quite small – bite-sized – so if you can stick to just 1-2, they can fit easily into a healthy diet. All cookies can, actually! I mean, do you really want a life without cookies? MY goal is to always enjoy the things and foods we love. That’s what life is all about, right?

If you don’t fancy yourself an amazing baker, this is an ideal recipe, as the cookies require zero oven time and just a few ingredients, some of which you may already have in your pantry.

As well as being really easy to make, these cookies are healthier than your average treat as they are made with wholesome REAL food ingredients. With the added protein powder it makes them more balanced than the traditional high carb recipe.

Eating protein-rich foods has many health and fitness benefits, including:
Speeding recovery after exercise and/or injury.
Reducing muscle loss
Building lean muscle
Helping maintain a healthy weight
Curbing hunger

A well-balanced diet with proper ratios of macro nutrients (protein, healthy carbs and fats) provides all of the: energy you need to keep active throughout the day, nutrients you need for growth and repair, helping you to stay strong and healthy and help to prevent diet-related illness.

When you find your optimal balance and amounts of macro nutrients, you take a major step toward reaching your health goals and this balance has been improved in this recipe by the addition of healthy protein.

This recipe serves as a perfect base for a traditional haystacks version, but feel free to get creative and create your own masterpiece. Consider these variation ideas for a unique spin on this crowd-pleasing recipe:

Chocolate: Melted to bind the haystack mixture, while helping them set up firm after chilling. You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips, or swap with white, milk, or dark chocolate varieties.

Peanut butter: Adds a rich nuttiness to the cookies and binds the mixture along with the melted chocolate.  You can use any nut or seed butter, including almond, cashew or sunflower seed butter or tahini (sesame seed paste) for a nut-free option. You can even use Nutella for a double dose of chocolatey goodness.

Mix-ins: Fold in crispy noodles, crushed cookies, pretzel sticks, graham crackers, favourite cereal, dried fruit, mini marshmallows, nuts or shredded coconut for a crunchy, crispy base.

Toppings: Top the haystacks with an additional drizzle of melted (white or dark) chocolate or candy melts, festive sprinkles, colorful candies, or crushed nuts.

They are a tempting treat you can serve for parties, or at your next bake sale or use for gifts for friends and family. You can make them into nests for mini chocolate eggs for Easter, add in holiday treats for Christmas, and/or of course you can just make them into little mounds and eat them all year long.

Now THAT’S my kind of cookie.

Chocolate Protein Haystack Cookies

These healthier no bake Haystack Cookies have all of the attributes of the beloved classic but come in a more wholesome package. Ingredients like rolled oats, coconut oil, peanut butter, coconut flakes and honey instead of sugar, combine to create a healthier alternative to the original.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Healthy Clean Eating

Keyword chocolate protein haystack cookies, clean eating dessert or snack, healthier haystack cookies, healthy haystack cookies no bake, no bake haystack cookies, protein haystack cookies

Servings 16

Ingredients

Chocolate Sauce

• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Cookie Mixture

• 1 cup crispy Chow Mein noodles, (pre-cooked) chopped or broken into bite sized pieces or pretzels
• 1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts, crushed
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup protein or collagen peptides powder
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sprinkles - optional

Instructions

• Prepare a cookie sheet by covering with parchment paper, wax paper, or use a non-stick or silicon baking mat; set aside.

Chocolate Sauce

• Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in a medium/large sized bowl and microwave with 30 second bursts stirring between each one until melted and smooth.

  Or use double boiler method - (pot of boiling water with a bowl resting on top) melt the chocolate chips and the coconut oil together.

  Add noodles, peanuts, coconut, oats, peanut butter, protein powder, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and mix well to combine and coat in the chocolate sauce.

  Dollop the mixture in 1-2 tablespoon mounds onto the lined cookie sheet.

  Work quickly as the chocolate will be cooling and setting. Makes about 16-20 cookies, depending on your size preference.

  Add sprinkles if desired before chocolate sets so they stick.

  Place the cookie sheet in the fridge for an hour or two or into the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the cookies to set.

  Store cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.

Print Recipe

If you are looking for more delicious, healthy, protein-rich, no bake desserts and treats to help you reach your health, wellness and fitness goals, you will love my collection here: Blended Bites