White Chocolate Ting-a Lings are the perfect salty sweet no-bake treat! Loaded with salty peanuts, crunchy chow mein noodles, creamy white chocolate and candy sprinkles, they’re one of our all time FAVORITE Christmas treats! Perfect for gifting, too!
Every now and then, you run across a treat that’s EXACTLY the kind of treat you dream of. And for me… these White Chocolate Ting-a-Lings are IT.
Also known as haystacks, spider cookies, chow mein clusters, and birds nest cookies… they’re a simple combination of chow mein noodles, salted peanuts, white chocolate, and candy sprinkles. And the end result is nothing short of perfection.
They have amazig salty + sweet flavor, an insane level of crunch, and they seriously couldn’t be easier to make. As in I’ve been making these since I was a kid! (No kidding!)
They make a delicious stand alone treat and are an obvious addition to any holiday cookie tray. And… they’re perfect for gifting! It’s no wonder they’re my favorite!
what you’ll need for this recipe
Chow mein noodles – I started with 3 1/2 cups chow mein noodles, which can be found in the Asian food aisle at your local grocery store. See “recipe variations” below for substitution ideas.
Peanuts – I added 2 1/2 cups salted cocktail peanuts for extra crunch and delicious salty flavor. Use dry roasted or, for a less salty treat, unsalted cocktail peanuts.
White chocolate – I used 24 ounces white chocolate to coat the chow mein noodles and peanuts. I chose Candiquik, which is a white chocolate candy coating that melts well and is easy to use. Substitute any brand of almond bark or vanilla almond bark.
Candy sprinkles – I decorated the haystacks with red and green candy sprinkles.
how to make white chocolate haystacks
Combine the salty ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together the chow mein noodles and peanuts.
Add the chocolate. Melt the white chocolate over low heat until smooth; pour over the chow mein noodles and peanuts and mix well.
Make the haystacks. Drop the mixture by spoonfuls onto wax paper; decorate with candy sprinkles. Cool completely and store at room temperature.
Pro Tips
Melt the chocolate slowly. I find that the microwave works especially well, but you can also melt it on the stovetop. Just be sure to use low heat and stir constantly to avoid burning.
Use Candiquik or almond bark instead of white chocolate chips. It’s made for melting!
If the chocolate starts to harden while you are working, don’t worry! Just pop the whole bowl, noodles and all, back into the microwave until the chocolate is melted.
Feel free to mix it up. Substitute milk chocolate or butterscotch chips, cashews or pecans, pretzels or even cereal. The possibilities are endless!
Recipe Variations
- Substitute milk chocolate for the white chocolate
- Stir peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips into the white chocolate and melt together
- Stir a spoonful of peanut butter into the melted white chocolate
- Use broken pretzel sticks in place of chow mein noodles (make it gluten free by using gf pretzels)
- Substitute Fiber One cereal, Cheerios, or another type of cereal for chow mein noodles
- Add crushed potato chips or any of your favorite salty snacks to the mix
- Substitute any of your favorite salted nuts for peanuts
- Add mini marshmallows to the mix
- Add any of your favorite candies to the mix
- Decorate with crushed peanuts instead of candy sprinkles
White Chocolate Ting-a-Lings
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups chow mein noodles
- 2 1/2 cups cocktail peanuts salted
- 24 ounces white chocolate I used Candiquik Candy Coating
- candy sprinkles
Instructions
- Mix chow mein noodles and peanuts in a large bowl.
- Melt white chocolate over low heat until smooth; pour over chow mein noodles and peanuts and mix well.
- Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper; top with candy sprinkles.
- Cool completely and store at room temperature.
Notes
Recipe Variations
- Substitute milk chocolate for the white chocolate
- Stir peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips into the white chocolate and melt together
- Stir a spoonful of peanut butter into the melted white chocolate
- Use broken pretzel sticks in place of chow mein noodles (make it gluten free by using gf pretzels)
- Substitute Fiber One cereal, Cheerios, or another type of cereal for chow mein noodles
- Add crushed potato chips or any of your favorite salty snacks to the mix
- Substitute any of your favorite salted nuts for peanuts
- Add mini marshmallows to the mix
- Add any of your favorite candies to the mix
- Decorate with crushed peanuts instead of candy sprinkles
I love the combo of salty – sweet – economical with these! Adding another to the list. Need to take the time to figure out all the things I want to make! These are on the list!!
I love that you put peanuts in with the chow mein noodles! I’ve done chow mein noodles with peanut butter stirred into the candiquik and that is good too – but I bet with peanuts it’s much better! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Sorry, Cathy…they’re haystacks. And, according to my boys, they’re awesome! I have some white chocolate, so we’re going to make more of these, for sure!
They have been Haystacks for years!, always a crowd pleaser.
My haystacks have peanut butter and marshmallows in them…not the same recipe!
Look delicious, Cathy! Thanks for sharing!
The candy was so hard we could barely eat it! I was so disappointed. Followed the recipe to a T.
I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ve made these countless times and have never had that experience.
These look so pretty and tasty, and the name makes me smile! Pinned! (P.S. I can’t imagine making 17 treats in one afternoon! Very impressive!)
I love these Cathy! I should make these in the middle of summer too, why wait until Christmas!
Mmmm I adore Haystacks! Love this festive twist on these!
I thought haystacks were made with coconut? So I’m with you, ting-a-lings! They look delicious Cathy. 🙂
My mom always made these with chocolate and I loved that whole sweet ‘n salty thing! The white chocolate sounds like such a great way to change it up, and everything you made sounded delicious! I totally need to get Christmas baking. 🙂
I use potato sticks in a can, never used chew mein noodles. I also add lightly salted peanuts to mine and use different flavored chips to coat them. Really good!
Can these be made with white baking chips?
My mom always made them with butterscotch chips
They look good.. My comment is just an fyi.. Haystacks are almost like this but you use butterscotch chips and no nuts! So you can call these whatever you like but the original is Haystacks which go back to the 60s at least and are made with butterscotch chips. Super yum as well ☺
These look so good! And your friends are only partly correct…haystacks are crispy Chinese noodles, salted peanuts and BUTTERSCOTCH CHIPS! The brown color makes them look like little haystacks. My sisters & I began making them with my grandmother over 50 yrs ago! Now I’m looking forward to trying your Ting-a-lings.
I’ve never had them like this before, I’ve always made them with butterscotch morsels and crunchy peanut butter. I’ll have to try this way too!
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Love the idea of these in white chocolate! My favorite are the ones my family has made for years. No white chocolate… butterscotch chips and peanut butter! They are a great weakness of mine.
Thanks, Susan! I’ll have to give the butterscotch/peanut butter ones a try!
How far ahead can you make the Ting-a-lings if your going to incorporate into Christmas gifts.and what is the best way to store them.
My mom made them far enough ahead do of time so she could ship to me while I was in Navy. We are talking more than 50 yrs. ago. (that was when people used to use parrafin (wax) in their chocolate candy to make it shiny). Wrapped it in wax paper. How times have changed! Taste of ting a Ling hasn’t though. I still make it. Chocolate &frosted flakes.
Love this story…thanks for sharing!
Can I use melted white chocolate Lindt bars instead of candy coating?
Can these be frozen?
Yes! They freeze very well!
I used 24 oz of white chocolate and it was plenty!!
i am so excited my aunt used to make these both with butterscotch & peanut butter and also semi sweet choc chips & peanut butter with the chow mein noodles. She called them TING A LINGS. and when I called them that nobody knew what they were! Thanks for the great recipe I will have to try them with white choc.
I wonder how pretsil sticks would be in place of noodles.
Can you use white almond bark?
Hey there! I’m interested in making these for a Christmas Eve party but I’m not sure how many they make. I tried looking at the recipe and comments but couldn’t find any information on that. If someone could let me know I’d really appreciate it!
I am looking for a recipe for a thumbprint type cookie with a rolo. Bake cookie and add candy or bake in cookie.?
Super easy to make. When the chocolate started to harden I just popped the whole bowl into the microwave for a few seconds. This will make many clusters, it all depends on how big your scoops are. Mine were large and I got 24 clusters from this batch. I will use this recipe again, maybe switch up the mix ins. Thanks for something easy and great tasting!