Puppy chow

Recipe for chocolate & peanut butter cereal treats

It doesn't get much easier or sinfully delicious than puppy chow. Next to rice krispie treats, this sweet snack is probably one of the simplest ones to throw together. Once these glorious little morsels are done, good luck tearing yourself away. 

I found lots of recipes online whose ratios of peanut butter to chocolate to powdered sugar vary slightly. Some forego the vanilla — some don't even have butter. Some call for a mere nine cups of Chex cereal, while a standard box is filled with 11 cups. What happened to "no Chex left behind," huh? Oh the humanity! 

To fix these egregious errors and oversights, I consulted my friend and puppy chow expert, Rachel. She's made puppy chow on a large scale as a camp counselor — even going so far as to make it over an open fire!  And she always brings the chow to our up north girls weekends. Thanks to her, I think we've unlocked the ideal ratios for the perfect puppy chow. Come with us on this journey. 

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PUPPY CHOW

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
1 11-cup box of Chex (I used rice)
1 stick butter (I used salted) 
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
3–4 cups powdered sugar (I used 4)
Two doubled-up brown paper grocery bags

WHAT YOU'LL DO 
1. In a large pot, melt the butter on the stove. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and chocolate chips, stirring until everything is mixed together and completely smooth.

2. Add the Chex a bit at a time, pausing to mix between each addition and make sure all the cereal pieces are covered in the chocolate & peanut butter mixture. Continue until you've added and coated the entire box.

3. Double-up a couple of brown paper grocery bags. (You could probably get away with just one, but better safe than sorry!) Pour the Chex from the pot into the paper bag, and add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Shake the bag like your life depends on it. Peek inside, and add another 1-2 cups of powdered sugar, continuing to shake like crazy until everything is coated. 

*Note: I added 4 cups total of powdered sugar, and it was divine. But the choice is yours if you think 3 cups will suffice. 

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I swear, after this post, I can't make puppy chow anymore. It is my drug. It is the sweet I can't I can't say "no" to. Even when I can feel my body saying,"Stop with the sugar already!" there's a reflex that kicks in and just won't quit. So make this recipe if you want to be everyone's favorite. But don't make it unless you want to eat a whole party-sized bowl of puppy chow by yourself. But do make it. You'll probably regret it if you don't.