The Gift of Giving + Mexican Chocolate Haystacks
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on Dec 16, 2014, Updated Sep 15, 2020
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Christmas is all about giving and every year my hubby and I donate gifts to Heroes Forever. It’s a charity that provides support and planning fun for families who have a child with cancer. This year the young boy we are supporting has leukemia and is very close to our son’s age. This charity reminds us to be so very thankful for the health of our own children. The list for him included clothing and toys that we purchased at Target. We hope and pray that these gifts make his Christmas extra special and memorable.
Speaking of giving, I have lovely memories of my mother in the kitchen during the holidays baking cookies to give to friends, family, and neighbors for Christmas. Once I was older I was able to help her in the kitchen and I remember in high school making my own cookies to include in the gifts. One of my favorites to make were chocolate haystacks. They are so simple to make: chocolate and chow mein noodles, that’s it, and the best part is there is no baking involved. It’s the perfect cookie for children to help make. I was feeling nostalgic and decided to make them, but because I love Mexican chocolate I added Mexican chocolate and a touch of coffee and made them a little more exotic and grownup. I love that they are not too sweet — crunchy, chocolaty, delicious!
Either give these Mexican chocolate haystacks as a gift or give the ingredients in small mason jars with a recipe.
Are you still on the hunt for gift giving ideas? I wanted to share some great canning jar gifts. These containers make superb gifts when you fill them with something thoughtful.
If you follow me on instagram then you might have noticed that anything turquoise is my weakness. When I saw these turquoise mason jars I couldn’t pass them up. The holidays do not have to be all about traditional red and green. Fill these with just about anything for gift giving. These are filled with dry ingredients to make empanadas and recipe cards to go with them.
And how gorgeous is this cake stand? As you can see it doesn’t need a cake. Display your homemade gifts on it and give them as holiday party favors.
One of my favorite gifts to give is homemade dulce de leche. You have got to see how simple these are to make.
Here are more homemade treats that would make lovely Christmas gifts.
- Champurrado in a Jar
- Cuernitos de Nuez (Butter Pecan Cookies)
- Pickled Red Onions
- Mexican Wedding Cookies
Target is our one-stop-shop for holiday décor and gifts. I am very thankful that Target asked me to collaborate for the holidays. Be sure to check out some of my other finds at Target here.
Disclosure: A special thanks to Target for sponsoring this post.
Mexican Chocolate Haystacks
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate morsels
- 1 3.3 ounce tablet Mexican chocolate (recommend Nestle-Abuelita)
- ½ teaspoon instant coffee
- 6 ounces chow mein noodles
Instructions
- Place chocolate in a large microwave-safe container. Heat in microwave 1 to 2 minutes or until almost melted, stirring after 1 minute. Then stir until smooth.
- Add coffee and chow mein noodles. Stir until well coated.
- Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm.
- Store in sealed container in cool area.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Upon reading this recipe i am bit confused, it says to melt chocolate in the microwave , I assuming you mean the morsels,at what point do you add the mexican chocolate tablet ? do you crush it then add it ? Id like to make these but Ill wait to hear back from you.
thank you
Hi Stella, I added both types of chocolate in microwave to melt. I edited recipe to make clear. Hope that is helpful. Enjoy these yummy haystacks.
Incredibly delicious! We made these Tuesday for Christmas Eve and it was fun to recall other versions made decades ago for cookie exchanges. This was our first experience using Nestlé Chocolate Abuelita, and are happy to now have it in our baking cupboards. What a difference it makes!
One question: When you say “stir until smooth,” does that mean you no longer see the morsel and tablet shapes? Or that the chocolate mixture is not grainy? We were tired and chose the former; however, we beat the chocolate mixture forever in some of our fudge recipes to accomplish the latter. We’re curious. What do you do for this recipe?
We read your lovely blog frequently. Thank you for sharing your family recipes.
Hola Big Family,
So happy to hear you made and enjoyed my recipe. I melted chocolate in microwave and stirred till Mexican chocolate was dissolved and chips were melted. The chocolate will have a grainy texture but for the most part is smooth and melted. Hope that makes sense.
Have a lovely New Year and please keep in touch.
I remember these little haystacks. so easy to make and so good. anything chocolate is yummy.
Oh I just made your chile rellanos and champurrada today! I was leafing through the cookbook and enjoying the stories told throughout. I’m happy to say, it is a favorite of mine. The well thumbed and food stained pages give away my affection for it. My mom used to make haystacks! I loved them! Thanks for the great gifting ideas. Have a joyous holiday!
Awww! That is so sweet Alicia. So happy to hear that. Have a lovely Christmas. Feliz Navidad!
Mmmhhh, delicious! A great Xmas gift and treat.
Happy Holidays!
Cheers,
Rosa
Great list! I’ll have to try some of these out!