Haystack Cookies

These cookies are super tasty and take only minutes to make. I love their crunchy texture and simple flavour. During Christmas time, I like to call them Reindeer Haystacks.

Makes 12 cookies

1 cup	170 g	Butterscotch, Chocolate* or Peanut Butter Chips
1/2 cup	130 g	Peanut Butter**
1 cup	150 g	Peanuts
2 cups	90 g	Chow Mein Noodles

1. Using a microwave*** or a double boiler, melt peanut butter and chips together. Stir constantly until a uniform mixture is achieved.
2. In a large bowl, mix together peanuts and chow mein noodles.
3. Pour melted peanut butter mixture over the peanuts and chow mein noodles and stir until well coated.
4. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper, and allow to cool until set. For faster cooling, place cookies in fridge.

Notes:

*I find chocolate chips tend to make gooier cookies than the butterscotch or peanut butter chips. If you don't like sticky cookies, reduce the amount of peanut butter you add to about 1/4 cup or 65 g.

**While it may be healthier, stay away from natural peanut butter. Its much too oily and the cookies won't stick together.

***I find 3-4 minutes on medium low heat works well. If unsure, always remember less is more. I've burnt this recipe a few times and the results are rather unappealing.

There's an app for that... in cookies

So my boyfriend and I celebrated our 3-year anniversary recently. To celebrate, I had the brilliant idea of making him iPhone cookies. They were a bit of a nightmare to be honest, I really should have given myself more time. These are brown sugar cookies decorated with royal icing.

Here they are in all their glory:

From Top Row, Left to Right: SMS, App Store, iTunes, Facebook, Pictures, Notes, Weather, Clock, Camera, Stocks, The Chemical Touch, Angry Birds, Calculator, Maps, Calendar, Settings, Phone, Mail, iTunes, Safari.

So my advice to you, dear reader, is to give yourself plenty of time before attempting to do something crazy like this, or you may tear your hair out. I did learn a lot from the experience though. One being the "sugar bloom" on some of the blue and green cookies (the mottled look). Apparently it also happens quite a bit with red dyes, so I will be playing with some methods to prevent it in the future.