Hair Balls

CoffeeB's Note:

This is a great recipe for Halloween or Christmas cookie trays. Serving amount is a total guess, depending on the size you make your cookie.

• Total Time: 34 mins
• Prep Time: 19 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 24 cookies

• ½ cup cocoa
• ½ cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups oatmeal , quick-cooking
• 1 cup chow mein noodles
• 2 cups shredded coconut , unsweetened
• 4 ounces plain chocolate candies (M&M mini's)

Directions:

1. Prepare coconut by placing 1 cup each into two quart-sized zip-lock baggies.
2. Add a few drops of a food color to each bag. (If making for Christmas, skip this part.).
3. Shake the bag vigorously to distribute.
4. Set aside.
5. In a large saucepan, combine cocoa, butter, sugar and milk, mixing well.
6. Bring to a boil and cover saucepan for 30 seconds to allow sugar crystals to melt completely.
7. Stir mixture and bring to a boil that can't be stirred down for 1 minute.
8. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth.
9. Add oatmeal and mix well.
10. Let the mix stand for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to let the oats absorb some of the liquid.
11. Add chow mein noodles and stir to coat.
12. Drop mix by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or parchment lined baking sheets.
13. Let cool until you can touch the mix, then take the cookie and drop it into the bag of colored (or white) coconut, rolling it around to coat.
14. Remove from the bag and place on wax paper.
15. Add two eyes (candies) near the top of the ball.
16. Store at room temperature.

Reviews

[Andi of Longmeadow Farm]

Count me in as a lover of *Hairballs* ~ and you can count my whole fam too, even my vegan son, who adored them. Making them vegan, instead of the m&m's I used *Whizzers* Chocolate Beans (made by Allergycare) and subbed organic soy milk (unsweetened) for the milk. I used Earth Balance Sticks in place of the butter. These were gorgeous little "Hairballs" that were as much fun to look at as to devour. I also used the tablespoon size to put them together, and rolled half in coconut. I loved the chow noodles, they really added a cuteness & a nice crunch. These were perfect! I will make more this XMAS and I know they will be gone, lickity split! Made for *Everyday is a Holiday* Novembre 2009

[katew]

Easy peasy to do and totally addictive. I loved the addition of the oats. Some I rolled in the coconut and some I left without as I am not a big coconut eater myself. Very yummy !!

[Chabear01]

Made these for KK's Kitchen Recipe Tag Game. I used Dark Chocolate Cocoa, and after making some with the coconut, changed it up a bit and rolled some in mini M&M's and others in chopped peanuts. The came our just as nice and for those who don't like coconut these worked nicely. I did make them up in Tablespoon size, which next time I will use a smaller spoon as these are very rich and the smaller size would be more in line with that richness. Thank you Coffee for a lovely recipe which will be made up for the Holiday Faire Bake Sale this year.