Puppy chow rice krispie bites

Let's take a poll, shall we?  Who knows what puppy chow is?  No, not the stuff you feed your young dog, but the super sweet and crunchy, lick-your-fingers-good, snack mix made with Chex cereal.  I pretty much grew up eating this stuff on a regular basis so I thought it was something that everyone knew about.  I couldn't believe it when everyone that I work with in Seattle had no idea what I was talking about.  Maybe it's a Midwest thing?


After a long day of saving lives with physical therapy last week, I had a serious craving for some puppy chow.  One problem: no Chex.  However, I did happen to have some Rice Krispies.  This got the wheels turning in my head and after awhile, out popped the idea of peanut butter Rice Krispie treats dipped in chocolate and then rolled in powdered sugar.  Genius!


Not only was the idea a bright one, but they turned out just as I imagined: a chewy, crispy peanut butter bar with a rich chocolate coating and some uber-sweet powdered sugar to top it all off.  While nothing will take the place of the real thing, these bars definitely satisfied my insane sweet tooth, and they also solved my problem of eating wayyyy too much puppy chow in one sitting.  The stuff is seriously addicting...as are these bars, but I somehow felt less guilty eating 4 of the bars than eating half of the bag of puppy chow.  


Puppy Chow Rice Krispie Bites


1 cup white sugar
1 cup Karo corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispie cereal


1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick unsalted butter


2 cups powdered sugar


Directions:


Spray 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray.  Set aside.


In medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly for 3-5 minutes, until the mixture is about to boil.  Remove from heat, then add the Rice Krispie cereal.


Spread evenly into prepared pan and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.


After an hour, take out pan and flip onto a cutting board.  Cut the bars into squares.  You can choose the size but mine were about 1 1/2" x 1 1/2".


Place powdered sugar in a medium bowl and set aside.  Also, prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  


Melt chocolate chips and butter in sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Stir often to make sure it doesn't burn.  When melted, remove from heat.  Working in 2-3 bars at a time (anymore than that and they will start to melt in the chocolate because they are in there too long).  After they are covered in chocolate, immediately roll them in the powdered sugar. 


Set on prepared baking sheet.  When all bars are done, place in refrigerator for about an hour so they can set up and cool.  Enjoy!