chocolate haystacks

• total time: total time 25 minutes

Ingredients

¼ cup (1½ ounces) chocolate chips

½ teaspoon oil

¼ cup pretzel sticks, broken in half

2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts

Directions

Line large plate with parchment paper. Microwave chocolate chips and oil in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until

melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Using rubber spatula, fold in pretzels and peanuts until evenly coated. Drop 4 heaping 1-tablespoon portions of pretzel mixture onto prepared plate in mounds and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Serve. (Haystacks can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)

Notes

why this recipe works Turn your snack drawer into a composed dessert with these sweet, salty, crunchy, and (best of all) easy-to- make treats. Named for their telltale shape, these cookies are made from little more than pretzels, peanuts, and melted chocolate chips. Melting chocolate with a little oil helped to create a thinner coating so it was easier to cover every inch of the pretzel and peanut mixture. After forming the mixture into mounds and letting them rest in the refrigerator for just 15 minutes, the chocolate solidified and became snappy, with an appealing sheen. You can use milk, white, or any dark chocolate in this recipe. See page 15 for more

information about microwaves.

kitchen improv

use what you've got You could use your favorite breakfast cereal in place of the pretzels; any nut (chopped, if necessary) in place of the peanuts; and any type of chocolate (chopped bar or chips) that you have on hand.

level up Stir in peanut butter, dried fruit, mini marshmallows, and/or butterscotch chips.