Haystack Cookies – No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
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Haystack cookies are a deliciously chewy no bake chocolate cookie with oatmeal and coconut. They’re made from simple pantry ingredients, super easy, and loved by kids and adults alike. 
No Bake Haystack Cookies
Have you ever tried haystack cookies? Sometimes they’re called macaroons (not to be confused with French macarons). Or even no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies.
They’re a classic recipe that takes about 10 minutes to make, and seriously delicious thanks to chocolate, oatmeal and coconut.
Haystack cookies are probably the defining recipe of my childhood. My grandma would make a massive batch, and we’d take home an ice cream pail almost every time we went to her house. Nowadays, I always look forward to my cousin Tanya making them over Christmas.
But instead of waiting for December to roll around – I figured it was time to share the recipe here on the blog.
Making these no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies is super easy:
- Add the oatmeal and coconut to a bowl.
- In a medium saucepan add the butter, milk, cocoa powder and sugar.
- Bring to a boil for 5 minutes while whisking.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl with the oatmeal and coconut and stir together.
- Drop tablespoons of the batter onto a lined cookie sheet, and pop in the fridge to let the cookies harden.
Yup – they’re seriously that easy. The only trick to making them is to make sure you gently whisk the butter mixture as it boils so that the milk doesn’t burn.
What kind of oats should I use? You can use quick oats or large flake/old-fashioned oats for these haystack cookies. I don’t recommend using steel cut because they’re too hard and crunchy.
You can also use sweetened or unsweetend coconut – it’s really up to you.
Either way – they’re totally delicious.
I absolutely love the fudgy chocolate flavor, chewy crunchy texture, and how easy these chocolate haystack cookies are to make. So whether these cookies were a staple of your childhood – or a totally new to you recipe – I definitely recommend giving them a try. And since they’re so easy to make, there’s really nothing holding you back for haystack cookie deliciousness!
Haystack Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups oats*
- 1 cup shredded coconut**
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl stir together the oats and coconut.
- Add the butter, milk, cocoa and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat
- Whisk gently as everything melts together, then bring the mixture to a boil for 5 minutes while gently whisking.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the oats and coconut and stir together.
- Drop tablespoon sized spoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to harden.
I made these today and they turned out perfect 👌🏻 I use to make these back in the day for the kids so easy and so good ! Brings me back to the good old days !
Best recipe ever! When I was a child I made these frequently but with small quick cook oatmeal.
I prefer the large oatmeal and the only change I made is using 1/2c less sugar.
I believe cooking the butter, milk, cocoa and sugar for 5 minutes gives these haystacks the perfect chewiness. 🥰
I will not use this recipe again. I measured ingredients as specified and boiled gently while stirring for 5 minutes. Add ed dry ingredients and when putting them on wax paper they were dry and barely held together, I had to swish it together to have it hold.
Other recipes I used are not like this, not happy!
Agree with other commenters about boiling time being too long. Mixture crumbles and will not hold together.
5 minutes is way too long to boil! After the recipe didn’t work out I checked other recipes that said to bring to a boild and stop. Might be a typo.
In my recipe book, these are the oatmeal no bake cookies my mother made working in a school lunchroom except that you added coconut to it. We make cakes using Chinese noodles chocolate chips butterscotch chips and a little bit of peanut butter to cut the sweetness. Chinese noodles look more like haystacks. But they still sound good
I lost my recipe for them and yours is mine lol . When I was a kid my nana would make them for my brothers and my self . We called them little round chocolate things . They are VERY highly demanded and covent by my brothers ( we are 57, 59 and 60 ) and I and now my kids! . Fights will brake out if our mom does not make them for us lol Always taste better when your mom makes them! I just made a batch and they are wonderful! and since is Christmas time my nana would sprinkle icing sugar on top to make snowy mountains so I am also doing that ! thank you for the Recipe !
Great recipe 🙂. Family loves it, make at least 3 times a year.
They don’t last long!!
These Haystack cookies take me right back to my childhood. My best friends mom would make them and I thought they were heavenly. And with all that oatmeal, they must be almost healthy! Lol
So, I make these every year. This is the first time I followed a different recipe. While the flavor is great I found the 5 minutes boiling time a little too long. As a result they were overcooked and basically disintegrated. Now, I’m not suggesting yours is a bad recipe, based on your pics yours look great. However, altitude and climate can affect many things such as the texture or rise, depending on what you making. I live at a higher altitude and my bake times are usually reduced. I learned something new this year. Apparently, the boiling time in my location, for something like this at least, could be reduced as well. I know with my old recipe for haystacks I only boil for 1 minute. They don’t fall apart and are chewy and moist. Go figure!
Please don’t see this as a criticism. I just thought your readers may benefit from knowing how their location may affect their baking. Merry Christmas
Instead of cocoa powder and sugar I use Nutella. They turn out so good my family love these
Oh wow! I will need to try that next time!