Kelly Fields’s Haystack Cookies Recipe (2024)

From Martha: It should be unsweetened dessicated coconut; not freshly grated. It’s available in whole foods stores and online. Not hard to find. But don’t use the sweetened coconut from supermarket baking aisles.

Is the coconut here the typical sweetened coconut used for baking, or should dessicated or freshly-grated coconut be used? It is not clear from context.

I made them one time as written and then, having run out of oats, toasted a variety of nuts (slivered almonds, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts and walnuts) and used these instead of the oats. You need to move quickly to drop them while they're hot, so they'll hold together, but they were great!

I have the same question.
Martha, please respond.

So much better than the old butterscotch (ahem, “food-like product”) variety. I went a little off reservation with the add-ins, using some peanuts and chow mein noodles along with the coconut and oats (keeping total volume the same) and they are luscious. Will 10/10 use this recipe as my standard.

Delicious! Didn't have coconut so made without, also cut sugar in half and "evaporated" some plant milk by boiling it down. Recipe created 20 cookies using a tablespoon. I am a bit baffled as to how one could get 3 dozen, although perhaps the coconut adds a bit more volume.

Followed the recipe to a tee. Came out perfect. Absolutely delicious and super easy and quick. They also looked fairly decent. An one cream scooped spoon really helps.

Most will be mortified, but this works beautifully using canned shoestring potatoes instead of oats. And if you want to get really Midwest festive sprinkle a few Red Hots on top while they're still warm.

Priceless cookies. Although mine were far less attractive than the pic, they were eagerly devoured.

My can of evaporated milk from the back of the pantry expired in December 2020, so I used skim milk instead. The cookies hold together just fine this way!

I also think these are too sweet. I would make them again with half the sugar and maybe add some nuts.

Anyone tried to make these dairy-free?

I used 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (all I had) and 1/2 cup sugar -- a mixture of white and dark brown. Came out wonderfully. Though -- I used a tablespoon cookie scoop and only got 16 cookies from this recipe.

So delicious & addictive they should be illegal! I used 1/2 & 1/2 instead of evaporated milk; I think heavy cream could also be substituted. My sugar didn't completely dissolve, but boy, were they delicious!

These taste much better after being refrigerated. I wasn't thrilled with them warm or at room temp. They are great cold, however.

The process of heating the evaporated milk in the cans imparts a slightly sweet flavor to the milk, and it's also just a bit darker in color than ordinary milk. Note that evaporated milk is not the same thing as condensed milk. Condensed milk is also reduced by 60 percent, but it is heavily sweetened and usually used in baking and desserts. There is no sugar added

Way too sweet. Even w 3/4 cup of sugar.

It seems like the oats need longer to toast. I did mine for 25 minutes and the cookies tasted a bit raw. Anybody else have that experience?

Question: Can these be made dairy free using culinary coconut milk? Thanks!