Peppermint Haystacks

This recipe is great because you don't need many ingredients. And you don't need a ton of time or skill to make them.

Start by crushing the candy canes. To me, this part is by far the worst part of any holiday baking. Crushing candy canes is messy, sticky, and loud. The best way I've found is to place the candy canes in a ziploc bag, place the bag on a towel, and hit the candy canes with a meat tenderizer, mallet, or hammer until they are fully crushed. The ziploc bag helps to keep the candy cane dust from flying everywhere. Although, it's not foolproof; the sharp candy cane pieces inevitably end up making tiny holes in the bag. The towel also helps to prevent mess, and it dampens the loud noise from the hammer. Of course, if you can find it in the store, and don't mind spending the extra money, you can buy pre-crushed candy canes. They are a little harder to find, but I think definitely worth it.

Next, melt the white chocolate. You can do this either by using a double boiler on the stove, or by using the microwave. I usually like the double boiler. But due to time constraints, I chose to use the microwave this time. When using the microwave, I'd just recommend only heating for about 30 seconds at a time, and stirring in between heatings. This will help prevent the chocolate from burning. When the white chocolate is fully melted, stir in the peppermint extract.

Mix the melted white chocolate with the chow mein noodles. Stir until the noodles are fully coated with chocolate. Drop the chocolate-y noodles by spoonfuls onto wax paper.
Top each haystack with crushed candy cane. Allow the haystacks to sit until the white chocolate is fully set.

When the white chocolate is fully dry, melt the chocolate chips. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips. But you could also use milk chocolate or dark chocolate. Once again, I melted the chocolate in the microwave. Just make sure it doesn’t burn.
Dip the bottom of each haystack into the chocolate. Place the haystack upside-down to dry.
When dipping the haystacks, you need to be slightly quick. If you leave the haystack dipped into the warm chocolate for too long, the white chocolate begins to melt again.

Once the chocolate is dry, your haystacks are ready to serve!