Summer is such a great time of year. Kids are out of school, everyone heads to the beach/pool, and in general it feels like the overall mood in life becomes more relaxed. I remember being so excited about the summer months when I was a kid – it meant we would head up to my grandparents’ cottage in Michigan…it meant I’d be running through the sprinkler in the backyard…and it meant I’d be enjoying some of my favorite warm weather dishes! One sweet little treat that I always enjoyed was puppy chow…so today I decided to feel a bit of nostalgia and bring it back, but this time creating a toasted coconut puppy chow to enjoy!
If you haven’t experienced puppy chow, perhaps you have been living under a rock? It also goes by the name of “muddy buddies” – is that a regional name, perhaps? Like soda vs. pop….there is puppy chow vs. muddy buddies? I digress. Not only did I love eating puppy chow as a child, making it was almost equally as fun. My mom would always allow me to help, and I would ALWAYS want to be the one who got to take the brown paper bag outside to shake shake shake shake shake!!!!
I mean, you really can’t go wrong when it comes to the ingredients in these little bites of goodness. Puppy chow…at it’s base level, includes a checkerboard style cereal (usually Chex or Crispix in my case), melted chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. It’s so simple, it’s so easy to make…and the only unfortunate thing about it is that it has the tendency to disappear at a rapid speed. Even today I can’t trust myself around an open container of puppy chow…before too long I’ll consume the entire batch without realizing it. It’s SO addicting.
Now, as great as puppy chow is on its own, how about kicking it up a notch with one of my all time favorite sweets – toasted coconut (which I have to admit is funny now because as a child I wouldn’t have touched coconut with a ten foot pole)! Oh, how I love toasted coconut. Do yourself a favor and toast up the entire bag when you’re making this toasted coconut puppy chow recipe – that “extra” third of the bag that is leftover is perfect to use in other kitchen endeavors (or to just eat plain). You can sprinkle some on top of your fresh fruit, on top of pancakes, on ice cream…should I continue????
Anyway, the combination of the puppy chow with the toasted coconut is basically heavenly in my book. It brings me back to childhood – being a kid at heart is always a good thing, right?
- 10 ounces shredded coconut, (angel flake, sweetened)
- 9 cups checkerboard cereal (Crispix or Chex)
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the shredded coconut in a single layer on a large cookie sheet. Place in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to fully cool.
- Place the checkerboard cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
- Heat a double boiler on the stove top. Add the chocolate chips, peanut butter, andbutter into the bowl - stir until fully melted and combined, and then stir in the vanilla. Alternately, you can melt these ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.
- When the chocolate and peanut butter mixture is melted and smooth, pour over the top of the cereal and begin stirring to coat and combine. As you stir, add in the toasted coconut to also coat.
- Pour the cereal mixture into a clean brown paper grocery bag (or other large container) and add the powdered sugar. Fully seal the bag/container and take the bag outside to shake until the cereal pieces are fully coated in powdered sugar. Set aside to cool (option to spread the pieces on parchment or waxed paper to ensure the pieces do not stick). ENJOY!
If you’re feeling nostalgic for more summer recipes, there are SO many to choose from for today’s Sunday Supper!
Beverages
- Blueberry Lavender Lemonade by Beauty and the Beets
- Natural Pink Pineapple Lemonade by Food Lust People Love
Breakfast
- Rhubarb Muffins by Wholistic Woman
- Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Appetizers
- Gazpacho Shooters by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Grilled BLT Kebabs by Eat, Drink and be Tracy
- Strawberry Fruit Dip by Books n’ Cooks
Main Dishes
- Classic Shrimp Roll Sliders by Crazed Mom
- How to Cook Hot Dogs by Life Tastes Good
- Wiener Schnitzel by Caroline’s Cooking
Side Dishes
- Baked Beans by Magnolia Days
- Creamy Ranch Potato Salad by Dash of Evans
- Grilled Zucchini Salad by Sunday Supper Movement
- Seven-Layer Salad with Bacon and Peas by The Hungry Goddess
- Southern Fried Squash by Peaceful Cooking
- Spätzlesalat (German Spaetzle Pasta Salad) by Tara’s Multicultural Table
- Summer’s Best Tomato Cucumber Salad by Delaware Girl Eats
Desserts
- Ambrosia Salad by Angels Home Sweet Homestead
- Bavarian Almonds by Palatable Pastime
- Blueberry Cobbler by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
- Boardwalk Funnel Cake by The Redhead Baker
- Buttermilk Pound Cake by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
- DIY Drumsticks by A Mind Full Mom
- Double Corn Buttermilk Cake by What Smells So Good?
- Frosted Grapes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Gluten Free S’mores Magic Bars by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
- Homemade Banana Pudding by Cooking with Carlee
- Homemade Drumsticks by Pies and Plots
- Japanese Melon Ice Cream by Ninja Baker
- Lemon Coconut Bars by The Finer Cookie
- Lemonade Pie with Sugar Cone Crust by Dizzy, Busy and Hungry
- Poke Cake by Our Good Life
- Maple Sugar Candy by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
- Mom’s Rhubarb Cake by Monica’s Table
- Nana’s No-Bake Cheesecake Squares by The Crumby Cupcake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake by The Freshman Cook
- Pudding Pops by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Root Beer Float Ice Cream Sandwiches by My Imperfect Kitchen
- Sherbet Float by Cookin’ Mimi
- Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Strawberry Jello Pie by Tramplingrose
- Tita’s Fruit Dessert by Basic N Delicious
- Toasted Coconut Puppy Chow by Helpful Homemade
- Watergate Salad by Flavor Mosaic
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Toasted coconut is my favorite!!
Oh my gosh. How sweet is that? Puppy chow! I’ve never heard of it. At first I thought you were talking about real dog treats, but now I realize you were the puppies! Funny.
Love this puppy chow recipe!
I’m the same way – I used to hate coconut, but now I love it. I never thought to use Crispix, but that’s a great idea. I love any variation of puppy chow!
Toasted coconut sounds like the perfect addition!
This could be my favorite puppy chow ever! Love the addition of coconut—this could be very dangerous to have around!!!
You had me at coconut 🙂
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