Favorite Recipes: Puppy Chow

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Puppy Chow

I fell in love with puppy chow way back when I was babysitting in middle school. I was at a charge's house for New Year's and their parents were having a party that night. We had the rein of the upstairs so before we headed up, they gave us some treats to snack on and puppy chow was one of them. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this dessert. I don't make it often because it's a lot easier to make with two people and it lasts quite a while since it's rich. I found the recipe on the box soon after that night and made it myself and have been making it through the years. But I've noticed that within the last couple of years, the recipe changed. Now it includes butter and vanilla. To me, that doesn't make sense. I would think the cereal would become mushy and it would become even richer than it is now, so I haven't tried it. I still continue to make it the way I've always made it and I'm happy. I also always make a double batch. Make sure you store the leftovers in the fridge either in a plastic bag or in a container with a lid.

Puppy Chow:

12 c Krispex, more as needed
12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips
1 c peanut butter
Powdered sugar, as needed

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 1 minute intervals, until melted. Stir in the peanut butter. Pour the 12 cups of cereal into a large bowl. In batches, slowly pour the chocolate-peanut butter mixture into the cereal. Mix it all together with your hands (if you use a spoon, the cereal tends to get crushed). Keep adding the chocolate-peanut butter mixture until everything is mixed together. If it becomes too chocolaty, add some more cereal. Don't add a whole lot more-you want enough in there to coat the cereal otherwise you will be left with cereal covered with powdered sugar and no chocolate mixture.

Once everything has been mixed together, this is where you will be needing the extra set of hands. I've discovered over the years that it's easier with a non-scented garbage bag. Pour about 1-2 cups of powdered sugar into the bag. Working in batches again, place some of the coated cereal into the bag. Pour some more powdered sugar on top. Close the bag and shake gently to combine. Pour the contents of the bag into a strainer/colander placed in the sink. Shake the strainer/colander to shake of the excess powdered sugar and then place contents into another large bowl. Either keep the puppy chow in that same bowl with a lid or transfer to gallon-size zip loc bags.

All the ingredients minus the powdered sugar...