Foodie Friday -- Puppy Chow

Last week, I was chatting with a swim mom and she was telling me about a snack that her neighbor made every Christmas. This year the neighbor was going out of town and wasn't making this snack. This mom was lamenting the fact because her son loved it.

Just by her basic description, "powdered sugar" told me all I needed to know. I said it sounds like Puppy Chow. She looked confused--it could be because English isn't her native language, and she thought I was talking about dog food--and I went into greater detail of the crunchy cereal, peanut butter and chocolate mixed together and tossed in powdered sugar. She said that it sounded like this particular snack.

I thought I had the recipe on my blog. I didn't. So I just directed her to check Google.

I will mention that I've never made Puppy Chow. I've eaten it, but never made it. And when I Googled it, I found numerous variations of the same ingredients.

Here's one version:

Puppy Chow

1 (12 ounce) bag chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter
1 (12 ounce) box Crispix cereal or 1 (12 ounce) box similar cereal
1 lb powdered sugar

Melt chocolate chips, butter & peanut butter over medium heat, or microwave in 30 second increments. Stir to blend. Pour over Crispix in large bowl. Stir to coat. Pour confectioners sugar in paper grocery bag. Add Crispix and shake vigorously until it breaks apart. Serve in new doggie dish.

Another version:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla
9 cups Crispix cereal (any flavor)
3 cups powdered sugar

Melt the first three ingredients in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in-between, until smooth. Add vanilla and stir. Pour over cereal and stir to coat. Place powdered sugar in large plastic bag, add cereal in batches, shake to coat.

Hints & suggestions:

• You can use Rice Chex cereal in place of Crispix. The key here is to have 'airy' cereal with two sides and air in between the layers.
• Rice or corn Chex cereal is preferable to wheat Chex. Wheat Chex has too strong of a flavor and it makes the snack too heavy. Just my opinion.
• I'd use a seriously large Ziploc bag to toss the mixture in powdered sugar
• IF you think there is nutritional value in this, you would be wrong. Jus' Sayin'. Any protein from the peanut butter is nullified by the high sugar overload.
• It's addictive. You will be eating it by the handfuls until your teeth start to hurt from the sugar content.
• Give it away to your neighbor's children. Let them deal with the hyperactivity from the little runts. . .

Enjoy!