If you are a fan of American cuisine, and especially if you have a sweet tooth, you definitely love that simple yet tasty snack or candy called puppy chow. Although it is made of chocolate, it has nothing with fatty and unhealthy comfort food. So, let’s discover when and where it originated, why it is called so, and how to cook it easily in your kitchen even if you have no culinary skills at all.

The Origins of Puppy Chow

Its funny name is not the one-and-only. Across the US, it is also known as Muddy Buddies, Monkey Munch, Reindeer Chow, etc. It became a real staple of the Midwestern States, yet today you can find it almost anywhere.

The origins of this sweet are unclear, yet most people of senior age can remember it even in their childhood. So, probably, it was created no later than in the 60s. Yet, due to the date of arrival to the market of its main component, Chex cereal, which was released in 1937, puppy chow in its today’s formula couldn’t have been invented before that year.

One more idea about its invention refers to the Girl Scout movement. As Girl Scouts often tried to make money by baking and selling their special Girl Scout cookies, puppy chow was probably also something invented by the leaders of this movement. For example, as a snack for camps or hiking trips.

That’s reasonable, as girls love chocolate, and puppy chow could be well-stored and easy to eat on the go. Yet, with time, these sweets became also a part of holiday meals i.e., Christmas treats.

By the way, Chex cereals were developed by Purina, a world-recognized manufacturer of pet food. Thus, the name puppy chow refers both to the main ingredient and to the shape of candies, which resembles common pet food shapes.

Why Do People Love That Candy?

What are Muddy Buddies? That’s a great combo of the most adorable tastes: sweetness of chocolate, salty taste of peanut butter, crustiness of cereals, and tenderness of melted butter. That’s why people love puppy chow and gladly eat this snack not only as children but at an older age.

Puppy Chow

Secrets of Cooking Puppy Chow: All You Need Is Only 4 Ingredients!

The recipe for classy puppy chow consists of 4 main components:

  • Chocolate chips. In its classy version, semi-sweet chocolate chips are used.
  • Peanut butter. It works as an adhesive substance that helps to keep all the components together. Besides, peanut butter is a source of great flavors and additionally vitamins and fatty acids.
  • Rice cereal snacks. Ready-to-eat cereals are used, typically the ones produced under the Chex or Chew labels.
  • Confectioner (aka powdered sugar).

To prepare puppy chow, you need simply to melt 1 cup of chocolate chips (better do it in the microwave or in a water bath to avoid burning of chocolate), do not forget to stir them regularly to create a shiny and smooth mix. Then add ½ cup of peanut butter. Remove the saucepan from the fire, and add 9 cups of rice cereals (typically they have the shape of pads or squares). Then stir them with chocolate-butter mix until every cereal pad is covered with a good layer of chocolate. Then take cereal covered with chocolate from the mix and put it into a container with a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar. Close the lid and shake the container to wrap each piece of puppy chow into the veil of sugar.

Then you can simply store it in a dry airtight container.

Of course, recipes for puppy chow vary greatly, and there are even ready-made sweets on the mall shelves. Yet, you can do it yourself, and you can even make some experiments on how to make it fit your HLS. For example, you can use dark chocolate or even brute chocolate, which contains less sugar. In this case, your puppy chows will be not as sweet, but they will be ultimately healthier. One more tip is to replace confectioner sugar with more dietary options like stevia and add some carob and honey instead of chocolate chips. In any case, the result will delight you with its taste and flavor.

Can Puppy Chow Be Healthy?

Although the basics of this candy seem to be not of a healthy kind, we can bet that you can try a healthy version of Muddy Buddies! Just opt for it in 95 Nutrition prep & delivery service! We have developed a special, healthy eating puppy chow recipe. Moreover, we did a protein bomb! Thus, when you want to feel a bit childish and eat some sweets, why not chew a couple of puppy chows? In 95 Nutrition, we make it yummy, with balanced sweetness, full of protein and slow carbs, and at last, we make it fresh! We welcome you to try our protein-high puppy chow version and enjoy it as a part of your healthy eating menu.