White Chocolate, Red Bean Paste, and Butterscotch Haystacks Recipe
Ryan Thomas is a university graduate who enjoys cooking recipes from a wide variety of culinary traditions.
Haystacks are a type of cookie with chocolate and another ingredient that are melted together and then covered with chow mein noodles and walnuts. My family's traditional recipe revolves around chocolate, walnuts, butterscotch, and chow mein noodles. The butterscotch gives such a warm and rich flavor to it all, which wonderfully balances and enriches the chocolate.
A few weeks ago I decided to try making some chocolate haystacks with red bean paste. I was happy with the results, but curiosity drove me to attempt to experiment and innovate with a new flavor palette.
And what a success it was! Instead of chocolate, I went for white chocolate, and the combination of butterscotch, white chocolate, and red bean paste produced an incredibly, wonderfully, rich, sweet, deep flavor. The butterscotch provides a warmth, and the red been paste imparts nice, almost fruity vibes, and the white chocolate has a very sweet and satisfying smoothness. I changed the proportions slightly to increase the rigidity and crunch from the chow mein noodles, and the walnuts add a wonderfully nutty flavor that really ties all of it together. To top it off, this treat is beautifully easy to make!
This recipe is entirely my own.
Ingredients
- 1.1 pounds red bean paste
- 1 pound butterscotch chips
- 1 pound white chocolate chips
- 10 ounces chow mein noodles
- 3 cups walnuts
Instructions
- In a large double boiler over medium heat, combine the white chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips. Heat until the first signs of their melting appear.
- Add in the red bean paste, and mix everything together and continue to heat while the ingredients dissolve into each other and become creamy and soft. Simultaneously, chop up the walnuts into fine pieces. When they are all mixed and become liquid, add in the chow mein noodles and walnuts and stir to coat everything.
- Using two spoons, dish out the haystacks onto parchment paper-covered baking sheets. Allow to cool a few hours. Once hard, they are ready to be eaten!
