Here in Texas, August is the hottest part of the summer. Triple digits all over the extended forecast. But school started so my brain is moving on to fall. The beauty of these haystack cookies is that you don’t need to turn on the oven. The butterscotch, peanutty flavors and color remind me of fall and harvest.
Right off the bat I need to tell you that not all butterscotch chips are created equal. The Nestle brand may contain barley (gluten alert!), which those with celiac, like my daughter, need to avoid. I bought both Hershey’s and Walmart’s Great Value brands and neither one had any gluten. The only other recipe I’ve made using butterscotch chips are oatmeal scotchies, a tasty twist on oatmeal cookies.
My mom used to make these for us with the crunchy chow mein noodles from a can. When I wanted to create a GF version, I decided to use a mix of Rice Chex and gluten-free pretzels in place of the noodles. The pretzels and the salted peanuts make this a salty-sweet treat. I hope you’ll agree that the results are delicious!
No matter what kind of weather you have today, these are great with a cold glass of milk.
These cookies do best when kept in the fridge. If they get too warm, they start to fall apart. That doesn’t keep them from tasting yummy. Just keep a napkin handy.
What you need for this recipe:
- Rice Chex cereal
- gluten-free pretzel sticks
- butterscotch chips
- peanut butter
- salted cocktail peanuts
Once you’ve mixed all the ingredients together, you want to use a tablespoon to drop the cookies on parchment paper to harden. Stick them in the fridge for best results.
Here’s the recipe with all the particulars.
Gluten-free No Bake Haystack Cookies
Butterscotch chips, peanuts and pretzels make this a salty-sweet treat that doesn't require an oven and can be made in ten minutes or less.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 1/2 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free pretzel sticks, broken in half
- 1 cup salted peanuts
Instructions
-
In a microwave-save bowl, combine the
butterscotch chips and peanut butter. Microwave on high for 30
seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds. Continue until
mixture is smooth. -
Combine Rice Chex, pretzels and peanuts in a large bowl.
-
Add butterscotch-peanut butter mixture and stir well.
-
Drop by tablespoon into mounds on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
-
Refrigerate or freeze until hardened.
Recipe Notes
For best results, store in an airtight container in the fridge.
What’s your favorite no-bake treat?