Chocolate Haystack Candy

While looking through an old candy cookbook of mine this week, I was thinking it would be kind of cool to make some homemade candy this holiday season (I know it's only August, but I like to think ahead)!  Most of the recipes in my cookbook had directions for candy that had to get to a "soft ball" or "hard ball" stage (which would mean I would have to use a candy thermometer, which I don't own).  After looking a little while, I found one that looked intriguing and more importantly, didn't require the candy thermometer!  It used chow mein noodles, butterscotch morsels, chocolate morsels and salted nuts.  Since the kids don't eat salted nuts and I didn't have any butterscotch morsels on hand, I just used the chow mein noodles and chocolate morsels. One word - AWESOME - just the right amount of salty and sweet!!!  There are many names for this candy:  haystacks, bird's nests, chocolate spiders and chocolate chow mein noodle candy. These were inexpensive to make - both the chow mein noodles and the chocolate morsels were the "house" brand from my favorite grocery store.  Guess how much the grand total was to make these? It was only $3.00!!  The hubby, Lauren and I were all "taste testers" for this candy and given that they are almost half gone, I think means we all liked them!! I'm pretty sure these "haystacks" will be making a repeat performance around the holiday season :)

Ingredients:

6-ounce package chow mein noodles, any brand
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels, any brand

Pour the chow mein noodles into a large bowl and set aside.  Melt chocolate morsels, either in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.  When the chocolate is completely melted, pour over all the chow mein noodles and with a large spoon stir until all the noodles are well covered.  Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet or tray covered with waxed paper. If you make the "haystacks" the size below, you should be able to get a dozen.

Please feel free to make them smaller or larger! When you are done, put into your fridge for at least one hour to let them harden up.  I keep them covered and stored in the fridge.