Only one pot required for ‘cookies with sticks’ in them
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/12/2025 (246 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
This recipe delivers on the holiday baking wishlist trifecta: it’s easy, requires little equipment and can be made months in advance.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Janet Sigurdson has been making chocolate chow mein clusters for 35 years. 
For reasons beyond simplicity, these Chocolate Chow Mein Clusters have been a beloved part of Janet Sigurdson’s family Christmas traditions for decades. Her now 32-year-old son, in particular, has been a lifelong fan.
“I’ve been making these for 35 years; they’re inspired by a Canadian Living recipe from December 1990. I still have the clipping; it’s a little stained but readable,” she says.
“My son has had them for his whole life. When he was three, Christmas was approaching and he pulled on my shirt and said, ‘Mommy, mommy, make those cookies again… the cookies with sticks in them.’ And then he drew a circle with sticks — it looked like a little Sputnik.”
And so, Sigurdson makes “cookies with sticks in them” year after year, relishing the ease of these chocolatey, salty, crunchy treats.
“All you do is put stuff in a pot and let it melt,” she says.
Chocolate Chow Mein Clusters
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
250 ml (1 cup) butterscotch chips
125 ml (1/2 cup) butter
60 ml (1/4 cup) smooth peanut butter
500 ml (2 cups) dry chow mein noodles
250 ml (1 cup) salted peanuts
Using a double boiler, melt chocolate and butterscotch chips, butter and peanut butter together, stirring often.
Add chow mein noodles and peanuts to a large bowl. Pour in chocolate mixture and stir until noodles and nuts are well coated.
Spoon the mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch mounds. Refrigerate for 20 minutes until firm.
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
— Janet Sigurdson
Homemade Holidays is an annual Free Press tradition featuring 12 festive desserts published over 12 days in December. Click here to find this year’s batch of reader-submitted recipes.
winnipegfreepress.com/evawasney
Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.
Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Related Articles
Legumes a filling, cost-effective, tasty way to add protein to meals
