I remember the first time we made the original version of this classic back when I was a little girl in Girl Scouts! We called them “Scotch Crunchies”! They were a fun after school treat that we used to whip up using just chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and those crunchy little chow mien noodles!

They were one of my favorite little treats when I was growing up, and I still love that version to this day!

But as we get older, we desire a little bit of complexity, and tire of some of the simpler versions.

And that’s what happened here. Though I still loved them like a favorite doll, I wanted a more grown-up version. And over the years they morphed into this!

I love the combination of salty, sweet, chocolate and fruit, and I designed these after a childhood favorite candy bar called a “Chunky”. Remember those? I don’t know if they still make them, but they were square, “chunky” thick, and had raisins and peanuts in them. I loved them! 😀

So I ditched the chow mein noodles and decided to use old-fashioned “shoestring” potato chips to start. That would add extra crunch, more flavor and a bit of salt. 😉 Good start.

Next came the raisins! I’ve used regular and golden, and each are equally as good. I’ve also in the past used some of Ocean Spray’s dried craisins of different flavors, and those also work well. So you can choose whatever you enjoy and think would be fun!

Lastly, the nuts! 😀 Can’t go without a little nuttiness in life, right? 😀 😉 You can use salted peanuts or cashews, this time I used salted cashews, or you can mix it up and use coarsely chopped macadamias, pecans or walnuts.   

I was feeling nostalgic when I made these, so I got down the little bottle of multi-colored nonpareils from the top shelf, the same place my Grandma used to store hers, that my sister and I used to sneak and eat like candy when we were little! 😉 I sprinkled a few of those on top just for fun. But you don’t have to do this is you don’t want.

I stuck to the wonderful blend of chocolate and butterscotch chips, but you can use all chocolate, all butterscotch, or go white chocolate of you’d like. I’ve tried this every which way and all versions are really good!  

So if you, too, are feeling a little nostalgic and remember “Scotch Crunchies”, you’ll love this version! Still all of the original flavor of the chocolate and butterscotch, but bumped up with with a salty-sweet combo, plus fruits and nuts! The best of all worlds! 😉 

Hope you have fun with these, take it easy, relax for a day, and I’ll see you soon! ~Kelly

Yield: 24 haystacks

Chunky Haystacks with Shoestring Potato Chips, Cashews & Raisins

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Ingredients

• 6 ounces quality milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces quality butterscotch chips
• 2 1/2 cups shoestring potato chips (*more if needed)
• 1 cup salted cashews or peanuts
• 1 cup lightly packed seedless raisins, regular or golden

Instructions

In large bowl, microwave chips until melted, stirring once through. (Don't overheat and scorch.)

Stir in rest of ingredients, and drop onto waxed paper-lined cookie sheets by rounded tablespoons, mounding a bit to form little "haystacks".

Chill until set. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.