Pretzel and Chow Mein Clusters

With this recipe I didn’t quite know what to call it.  I’ve heard these referred to as birds nests, haystacks or simply chocolate clusters.  No matter what you want to call them, they’re delicious.  Usually the recipe features pretzels or those crispy chow mein noodles you put on top of won ton soup, chocolate and peanuts.  As is my usual way, I figured why not throw in a bunch of things and see what happens.  So with an idea in my head I headed off to the Bulk Barn, a local bulk food store, to see what I could track down.  Instead of regular peanuts, I found butter toffee coated peanuts and honey roasted peanuts.  There is a fair amount of leeway in the measurements of the ingredients, so feel free to experiment a bit.  It’s good to have a few baking sheets handy and some space available in your freezer or fridge.

Chocolate Pretzel and Chow Mein Clusters Recipe

• 3 cups of milk chocolate wafers
• 3 cups of straight pretzels
• 3 cups chow mein noodles
• 1 cup butter toffee coated peanuts
• 1 cup honey roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup Skor toffee bits
• 1/4 cup white chocolate (entirely optional)

Melt 1/2  of the milk chocolate in a small sauce pot, stirring periodically.  Melt the white chocolate in another sauce pot.  I did this is 2 batches so as to not have the chocolate harden too quickly on me.   Cover 2 or 3 baking sheets with wax paper.   Once the milk chocolate is melted, add half of the nuts, pretzels and chow mein noodles, then stir until everything is well coated.  Using a set of tongs arrange some of the mixture into small piles, about 3 inches round, on the cookie sheets.  I found you kinda have to sculpt the clusters a bit, making sure that each pile is tightly packed and sticking together.  Sprinkle with Skor toffee bits, then use a spoon to drizzle the white chocolate over top of each stack.  Put the trays into the freezer for 5-10 minutes until the chocolate is set.  Repeat instructions for the second half of the recipe.