No Bake Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies

These Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies are flavored with peanut butter and butterscotch chips. Butterscotch haystacks are made with only 3 ingredients and are no bake, making them the perfect treat.

We are huge fans of no bake recipes just like these butterscotch cornflake cookies! If you are a fan, too, try out these Lucky Charms Bars, the pastel colors make them perfect for spring. This classic Lemon Freeze Pie recipe, is full of lemon flavor and has a cornflake crust. Or try these Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars, layered bars that look as good as they taste.

Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies

Whether you call these cornflake cookies or butterscotch haystacks, they are the sweet treat that everyone will love. Don’t be surprised if you get asked for the recipe because they are just that good.

The texture of these cookies have a crispness that is perfection. It comes from the crispy cornflakes. Goopy peanut butter mixed with butterscotch, gives these stacks their amazing flavor.

Cornflake Cookies

Believe me when I say that you won’t be able to just eat one of these cookies. I could probably devour the whole lot of them if I wasn’t paying a lot of attention, I just keep grabbing one after another.

One of the great things about these cookies, except for the fact that they only need 3 ingredients (win!), is that they are easy enough for kids to help make.

What are Haystack Cookies?

Haystack cookies are no bake treats that are crispy and buttery. Made with corn flakes that get coated with a butterscotch and peanut butter mixture. They are piled into little mounds that look like small haystacks. You can even add mix-ins if you like, like peanuts or marshmallows.

How cute are these with sprinkles? These are completely optional, but I did the multi color ones. You could do different colors to match any season or holiday throughout the year, like pastels for Easter or red and green for Christmas.

What Kind of Peanut Butter to Use?

This isn’t the place to use natural peanut butter, it is just too goopy and oily. The best way to get these cornflake cookies to turn out really well is to use just regular, smooth peanut butter. I have never tried using chunky peanut butter, if you do it let me know how it turns out in the comments below.

Butterscotch Cornflake Cookie Ingredients

• Butterscotch Chips: You’ll need one bag of butterscotch chips.
• Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter. Use regular peanut butter not natural.
• Cornflakes: Just plain cornflakes, not any with added sugar.

How to Make Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat and set it aside. Pour cornflakes into a large heat safe bowl.
2. Melt the butterscotch chips and the peanut butter in a saucepan, using low heat and stirring constantly.
3. Add the cornflakes and stir gently until well covered.
4. Drop by tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet. You may need another spoon to get the mixture off of the first spoon. If using sprinkles, sprinkle them on now.
5. Let the cookies sit for several hours or overnight. Or put into the refrigerator for them to be done even faster.

Can I make these Cornflake Cookies in the Microwave?

I typically will melt the butterscotch and peanut butter together in a sauce pan on the stove, but this can also be done in the microwave. Heat butterscotch chips for 15 second intervals, stirring well each time, until fully melted. Remove the butterscotch from the microwave and mix the peanut butter in well until it is smooth. Then pout that into the cornflakes. And continue with the instructions.

How to Make These Cookies into Bird Nests

You can turn these butterscotch and peanut butter cornflake cookies into birds nests with mini eggs for Easter or just for spring. You will need one extra ingredient and that is chocolate mini eggs (robins eggs) that have a thin colorful shell. This makes about 16-20 bird nests and you will need 2-3 per nest. You could also use jelly beans or mini marshmallows.

Make the cookies by scooping 1 tablespoons of the cornflake mixture onto the baking sheet. Gently make an indentation in the top with a small spoon. Let them cool completely. Top with robins eggs before serving.

Butterscotch Cornflake Cookie Tips & Variations

• Keep on low and stir. Be sure to keep the heat low and keep stirring so that the butterscotch and peanut butter mix does not seize up or burn.
• Cookie scoop. You can use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to assist in scooping the butterscotch mixture.
• Let them set. Make sure to let these set for a couple hours before enjoying to ensure they don’t fall apart.
• Add peanuts (or other chopped nuts). Add in 1/4 cup of roasted chopped peanuts to the melted peanut butter and butterscotch.
• Use chow mein. Traditional haystacks are made with dry chow mein noodles, so you can sub in a 10 ounce package of dry noodles instead of cornflakes. Don’t mistake these for ramen noodles or fried wontons. The chow mein sometimes comes in a can or a bag.
• Top with sprinkles. You can top these with any colored sprinkles.
• Haystack bird nests. Make these into bird nests for Easter. So cute! The directions are above.
• Add marshmallows. Add in 1/3 cups of miniature marshmallows in with the cornflakes.
• Use sweetened flakes. If you really want these sweeter, you could use flakes that are frosted instead of plain flakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you keep these no bake cookies in the refrigerator? You do not have to store these no bake butterscotch cookies in the fridge. They will last in an airtight container on the counter.

How long does it take for no bakes cookies to set? You have to wait until these cookies set completely before enjoying them or they will just fall apart. This will take about 2-4 hours.

Can I make these butterscotch haystacks without peanut butter? Yes, make them just butterscotch haystacks by leaving out the peanut butter. Just use about 3 cups of corn flakes to make up for the lost ingredient.

Storage Instructions

How to refrigerate butterscotch cookies? After letting the cookies set, put them in an air tight container. They should last about a week in the fridge.

How to freeze butterscotch haystacks? Let cookies set completely before putting into an air tight, freezer safe container. Cookies can be frozen for about a month, just be sure to label with the recipe and date.

Try these other sweet recipes!

• Watergate Cake
• Bakery Style Strawberry Muffins
• Strawberry Gooey Butter Cookies
• 3 Ingredient Coconut Macaroons
• Snickerdoodle Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

If you’ve tried this butterscotch peanut butter cornflake cookie recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who have made my recipes!

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5 from 12 votes

No Bake Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies

These Butterscotch Cornflake Cookies are flavored with peanut butter and butterscotch chips. Butterscotch haystacks are made with only 3 ingredients and are no bake, making them the perfect treat.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Dessert and Pastries

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16

Calories: 197kcal

Author: Tristin – Home Cooked Harvest

Ingredients

• 4 cups cornflakes
• 11 ounce bag butterscotch chips
• 1 cup peanut butter creamy
• sprinkles optional

Instructions

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat and set it aside.
• Pour cornflakes into a large heat safe bowl.
• Melt the butterscotch chips and the peanut butter in a saucepan over low heat and stirring constantly.
• Add the cornflakes and stir gently until well covered.
• Drop by tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet. You may need another spoon to get the mixture off of the first spoon. If using sprinkles, sprinkle them on now.
• Let the cookies sit for several hours or overnight. Or put into the refrigerator for them to be done even faster.

Notes

• Keep on low and stir. Be sure to keep the heat low and keep stirring so that the butterscotch and peanut butter mix does not seize up or burn.
• Cookie scoop. You can use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to assist in scooping the butterscotch mixture.
• Let them set. Make sure to let these set for a couple hours before enjoying to ensure they don’t fall apart or put in the refrigerator to set up quicker.
• Add peanuts (or other chopped nuts). Add in 1/4 cup of chopped peanuts to the melted peanut butter and butterscotch.
• Use chow mein. Traditional haystacks are made with dry chow mein noodles, so you can sub in a 10 ounce package of dry noodles instead of cornflakes. Don’t mistake these for ramen noodles or fried wontons. The chow mein sometimes comes in a can or a bag.
• Top with sprinkles. You can top these with any colored sprinkles.
• Add marshmallows. Add in 1/3 cups of miniature marshmallows in with the cornflakes.
• Use sweetened flakes. If you really want these sweeter, you could use flakes that are frosted instead of plain flakes.

 

* Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results. 

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 196mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 2mg

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