A melt-in-your-mouth chocolate confection with a cookielike crunch, the haystack comes across as exacting to make, but it's actually simple.
I have been making some variation of these chocolate haystacks for years now, and whenever I do, I feel a little sly because they are unexpectedly simple — and more healthful than they let on.
A melt-in-your-mouth chocolate confection with a cookielike crunch, the haystack comes across as exacting to make, yet all that’s involved is coating shredded wheat cereal in melted chocolate and mounding the mixture into small piles onto a tray.
Wrap these festive haystacks in a cute box and gift them to someone you love. When you get raves about how good they taste, you can divulge how easy and good-for-you they really are, or you can keep quiet and relish that feeling of being just a tad sneaky.
Chocolate Haystacks With Crushed Strawberries
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8 servings (makes 16 pieces)
MAKE AHEAD: The stacks need to be refrigerated for about 20 minutes, to set up.
⅓ cup freeze-dried strawberries (see headnote)
3 large shredded wheat cereal biscuits (about 2 ½ ounces)
6 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cocoa solids), chopped
- Place the freeze-dried strawberries in a resealable plastic bag and use a mallet or rolling pin to crush them until they are mostly pulverized with some small pieces remaining.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Use your hands to crush the shredded wheat into threadlike pieces over a medium bowl.
- Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan filled with a few inches of barely bubbling water (medium heat). Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Melt the chocolate, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute, then remove the bowl from the pan. Add the crushed shredded wheat to the chocolate and stir until well coated.
- Use your fingers and/or a large spoon to transfer 16 tablespoon-size stacks of the cereal-chocolate mixture onto the wax paper. Sprinkle some of the crushed strawberries on top of each stack. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes, or until set.
- Store and serve at room temperature.
— Nutrition per piece: 80 calories, 1 g protein, 9 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar