No time to bake? Try No-Bake Chocolate Haystack Cookies!
This is my most popular recipe of all time… who knew?
These timeless kid-friendly gems are so easy. Just mix, let set and enjoy! The blend of coconut, chocolate and oats is a simple and easy treat for kids and the kids-at-heart. These babies are more like a cookie than a granola bar, but not as moist as a macaroon. The great part is they take just 10 minutes from start to eat, with no baking!
I love to make these as an addition to a cookie platter over the holidays. The colour and shape really add great texture to the presentation. They are chewy and dense, when your other cookies may be crispy and light.
No Bake Chocolate Haystack Cookies
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 5 Tbsp cocoa
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups quick oats
- 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cocoa, milk, butter and salt. Heat to low boil, stirring often. When a low boil is reached, cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove pan from heat and quickly mix in vanilla, oats and coconut until incorporated.
- Drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheet (you will need to press a bit to hold each mound together). Let cool until set, about 5 minutes.
Notes
UPDATE:
If your no-bake cookies are sticky and gooey, then they were not boiled quite long enough. On the flip side, if your no-bake cookies are dry and crumbly, they were boiled a tad too long.
Also, if they are a bit too dry for your liking, take the cocoa down to 4 tbsp.
If they are too sweet, you can try taking the sugar down to 1 cup.
Im wondering how you can recommend these to your readers as healthy for kids when the first ingredient is 2 full cups of sugar? That’s not healthy at all. Even if using a natural sweetener such as agave, honey, or organic maple – two cups is a TON. The average cookie recipe calls for only 1 cup.
Good point Melissa. I have changed my post from ‘healthy treat’ to read ‘easy treat’.
Hi Lori,
Just wanted to thank you for sharing this recipe! It will be a great addition to my cookie platter gift to friends. It’s the holiday season, so a little indulgence, within reason, isn’t a bad thing! Happy holidays!
Thanks Ronda, have a wonderful holiday season!
Love it
Hi , just wondering how long they last after making them?
Hi Anne, these cookies are best the day they are made. With all that coconut, they tend to get a bit dry quite quickly. If you want your coconut cookies to be more moist, and to last a week or so, I recommend you try these CHEWY COCONUT MACAROONS
Thank you for your fast reply
Much appreciated
🙂
I just spent the last three days baking and all common recipes I made called for 1.5-2 cups of sugar AND brown sugar in some (icing sugar in others). Although none at all healthy per say these would be a better alternative with having coconut and less sugar…also with cocoa rather than chocolate chips as well.
Hi there,
Just a note to let you know I have cut the amount of sugar in half and they still taste delicious!
Best, Kim
So glad to hear that Melissa, thanks so much for coming back to tell me! I’m working on a new recipe for Macaroons, you will love… coming soon
This is a classic recipe from early 1080 so I take the sugar and I use pure xane sugar which is better then granulated. I also have tried 1 cup granulated and the second cup I have used honey. That’s just y input
1.5 cups of sugar divided by 24 cookies. Compared to quick snacks the amount of sugars is low.
Hey Lori,
How many haystacks does this recipe make? I’m going to a potluck for 80, and have no idea how many times to make the recipe. Thanks in advance!
Stevie.
Hi Steve, this recipe depends on the size of cookie. If dropped by heaping tablespoon you will make 24 cookies.
Hi Lori, would it be possible to use salted butter and just omit the dash of salt?
Yes, but it will be a bit saltier than just a pinch would have been. That’s not a bad thing, it enhances the chocolate flavour.
When you say let cool. Do you leave them out on the counter uncovered or put them in the fridge or freezer??
Just on the counter is fine.
Can these be put in the freezer ? To be eaten at a different date?
Thanks
I have never tried that so I can’t say. Give it try and get back to me.
Have been making these for years. They freeze exceptionally well.
One word of caution…don’t try to double the recipe. It cools quickly and becomes too crumbly to make stacks with. The crumbles froze well and tasted great as a topping on yogurt and ice cream though 🙂
Thanks Heather, good to know!
I leave the quadruple batch on the stovetop. The warmth keeps them malleable. But must move quickly. So this should work for a double batch.
I freeze these all the time! they even taste great frozen
I make these but use unsweetened coconut you don’t need the extra sugar as they are already sweet enough without it.
Hi, I made these and they ended up too crumbly. Wondering if I cooked them too much or on too high heat? I had to add some milk to the mixture at the end to make it not so crumbly so I could drop them onto wax paper. Any insights about what I did wrong would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Not sure Anneliese, sounds like too much coconut.
Anneliese, this is probably too late of a response but you are essentially making fudge with these cookies. Check out Serious Eats article on a cookie very similar. I believe if they were crumbly, it was cooked to long. I think you want to cook it until it registers 230F on a candy thermometer.
Hi everyone, I updated the recipe today by reducing the sugar by 1/2 cup… still just as good.
Thanks for sharing this my boyfriend just made these. Going to enjoy eating cookies tonight.
I followed the recipe exactly, instructions and ingredients amount with absolutely no modifications. But they came out dark and gooey. They actually stick to the parchment paper and I had to peel them off. They taste okay, maybe a little too sweet, but not at all what I was hoping for (more like my favourite store Zarkey’s haystack hookies which do have the exact same ingredients as in this recipe, I just don’t know the quantities). I tried putting them in the fridge, but they were still too soft and very shiny. Maybe I need to lower the butter amount? I used one of those sticks in a 4 pack that’s 450g for the whole box. I’m just so confused because I did make sure to follow your recipe.
Hi Tara, you had me worried, so I re-made the recipe myself. It works just fine. I think however that my method may not have been clear enough. I hope it is clear now as I have revised the wording a bit.
Please explain what a low boil is. Which boil time works best for you 3 mins. or 4?
Low boil means you see small bubbles popping the surface with less vigorous action than a true boil.
Yes I thought low boil meant small bubbles. My family and I know that as a simmer, bringing up to a full boil and reducing the heat to a simmer so bubbles break the surface. I think boiling might make a difference in the results for sure. I will give this a try soon. Thanks.
I’m excited to find your recipe! My mom and I use to make these all the time when I was little, but she never wrote down the recipe. All the others I could find had peanut butter in them (which I’m 100% sure her’s didn’t have). My question is: can you make these without coconut? Do I need to modify any of the other ingredients to compensate for taking it out? Thanks!
Hi Sara, there is no “haystack” without the coconut.
Yes, if I don’t have coconut on hand I sometimes sub in an extra cup of oats. Not quite the same, but still very tasty.
mine turned out runny is there anyway to recover them
They should be perfect, however add a bit more coconut.
Are these gluten free?
Pure oatmeal is gluten-free, however most comman grocery store brands have been cross contaminated with wheat. See if you can find gluten-free oats just to make sure.
Just so you know, these do freeze well. My mom always made these when I was growing up. She froze them because she made them in advance and hoped they would not get eaten so there would be some for guests. To her dismay, we still stole out of the frozen tupperware containers! This is the closest i have found to my mom’s original recipe, which she lost. She was born in Wales and they called them Out of this World Cookies.
Is the coconut organic?
It can be, if you like, but not a must.
My mom used to make the ones with cornflakes when I was a kid. We are having some really hot weather so I googled no bake haystacks and found this recipe which I think is much healthier and better! I also cut the sugar (i slightly heaping cup) by a little bit and used unsweetened coconut as it was all I had. Mine are very soft but not fall apart soft and the kids are loving them. They are basically a non bake version of the granola bar recipe I make that they really like! So this will be an easy add to the school lunch treat rotation. I may add in the extras that they like in the granola bars like sunflower, pumpkin, or hemp seeds!
Thanks for coming back to comment. It’s great to hear how you are enjoying my recipe with your own twist!
I seem to recall this recipe but also with peanut butter. Have you heard of that? Next question would be how much peanut butter? Thanks!
No I have not heard of it with peanut butter. I’m not sure it would some together as solidly as you need.
Hi,
Just wondering, how would I do this recipe differently if I were to use regular old fashioned oats instead of quick oats??
I think it will be fine. Try it, and please report back!
I found there was not enough moisture or too many oats and they totally fell apart
I follow the recipe, but every time I make them, they are too moist they fall apart. What do you think I’m doing wrong? Are they supposed to be very chewy, or should they bit a bit dry?
They are usually a bit of both, but more on the dry side.
I made these for me and my fiancé as we were both craving some chocolate. I love how easy this recipe whips together. I used lactose free margarine instead of butter and they came out perfect.
Thanks!
Hi Lana, so glad you liked them!
My wife made these for the holidays, OMG im so hooked and now my Fav Chocolate snack.. Out of this world yummy
So glad you came back to comment, glad you loved them!!
We grew up with these. Family favorite for the holidays. I triple batch them the family eats so many. They freeze well so great when you need a quick treat over the holidays to take to friends or work.
I have been making these for a bit now. We add a scoop of peanut butter when you add the oats and coconut!
After they are on the cookie sheet we also put a maraschino cherry on top
Sounds great Val!
made you recipe to the T and it came our so crumbly, any thoughts what Im doing wrong?
Hi Sarah, not sure, they work great for me. If yours were too dry, you could take the cocoa down to 4 Tbsp and reduce the sugar by up to 1/4 cup.
Could I shape these into bird’s nests in a muffin tin?
I have not tried that, but it should work.