Chocolate Butterscotch Bird Nests

Mmmm, this is another one of my few dessert recipes that is just too good for words.  My mom makes these cookies every holiday season along with the sugar cookies and snickerdoodles.  What makes them so dangerous, though is that they're ridiculously easy to make.  This means I can have a craving for them and before I can muster any self-control, I can have a batch made.  Tragic, really.  Oh well, now you can share my "pain".

This makes 24 cookies:
11oz bag of butterscotch morsels
11oz bag of milk chocolate morsels
1 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
2 cups of chow mein noodles

Start by melting the butterscotch and chocolate morsels together in a large bowl.  You can use a double boiler, but the lazy way is to put it in the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes and stir it every 30 seconds.  It works just as well.

Then you end up with this.  Refrain from sticking your fingers in the bowl and just having this be the dessert.  It gets better, have patience.

Add the peanuts to the bowl.

Then the chow mein noodles.

Stir gently until the noodles and peanuts are evenly coated.  It takes a couple minutes so don't rush.  Just keep folding it over so as to not break it all up.

Line 2 cookie sheets with some parchment or wax paper.  Use a fork to scoop out clumps just a little bigger than a golf ball.  You should be able to get 12 on each sheet.

You may lick your fingers and the bowl after scooping.  No sense letting the excess go to waste.

Refrigerate for at least an hour until the chocolate is hard.

Store them in the refrigerator so that they don't get all melty...unless that's your intention, in which case it sounds like the most delicious mess ever.

Party Mix

This is based on the party mix recipe by Crispix.  My mom has been making this one since I can remember too.  She put pretzels in it but they have a ridiculously high glycemic index so I left them out.  She also uses Cheerios and honey roasted peanuts, which are awesome so I kept those.  I have a hard time keeping this stuff around.  Josh doesn't actually eat it but I always grab a handful when I walk by the storage jar so it's gone before I know it.  Oh well.  It's great fiber.

6 c Crispix cereal
1 c plain Cheerios
1 c wheat Chex
1 c honey roasted peanuts
3 tbs margarine
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix cereal, nuts, and pretzels in a bowl.  Mix remaining ingredients in another bowl, pour over cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated.

Spread thinly on a baking sheet and bake at 250° for 45 min, stirring every 15 min.

Spread on paper towels to cool.

You can add other things to this.  It's a pretty forgiving recipe.  My grandma uses mixed nuts and pretzels instead of Cheerios and honey roasted peanuts.  Just don't use anything that's already seasoned, like Gardetto's.  I've had that and it's just too much.