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Bacon, Bourbon and Peanut Puppy Chow

January 10, 2013 1 Comment

I know it may sound silly, but I love puppy chow (also known as muddy buddies to some). And just like 7-Layer Bars, I had never made it before! Crazy, right? Puppy chow is such a holiday thing to me and I always knew someone else would be bringing it to whatever function I’d be attending so I’ve never bothered to make it. However, I have always thought that puppy chow needed revamping. It’s totally yummy but am I the only one that would look for the little nuggets of two or more Chex squares stuck together with an excess of the chocolate and peanut butter mixture?? Know what I’m talking about? Yes, I’d pick through the puppy chow mix to find those little scrumptious morsels–I’m not ashamed! I’ve just always thought it needs MORE chocolate and peanut butter goodness. So I decided to do something about it!

I started off doubling the chocolate and peanut butter mixture but then I thought it needed something more. And that something was alcohol! Can’t go wrong adding booze to a dessert, right?! But then my evil mind went even further and thought it needed something even more…like bacon….and peanuts. Yes, bourbon, bacon and peanuts…in puppy chow. Things got crazy up in my kitchen people. Crazy in a VERY GOOD way. What resulted was the yummiest puppy chow I’ve ever had. No more digging for the little morsels of Chex Squares stuck together–there were plenty of those! Now if you don’t want to add all the additional ingredients and stick closer to the classic, that’s totally ok…but the bourbon, bacon and peanuts add such another dimension of yumminess to it. I highly recommend! Fabulous sweet/salty snack for a Superbowl party!

Enjoy!

Bacon, Bourbon and Peanut Puppy Chow

Ingredients

1 c. Smooth Peanut Butter (I prefer Peter Pan)
½ c. Unsalted Butter (I'm sure salted would work fine too)
2 c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
⅓ c. Bourbon
1 lb. Bacon, cooked and chopped (I tore the fatty pieces off of mine)
2 c. Dry-Roasted Peanuts
9 c. Chex Rice Cereal
3 c. Powdered Sugar

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the cereal, bacon and peanuts.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips at 30-second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each until completely melted and smooth. Stir in the vanilla and bourbon.
Pour the chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the cereal mixture and toss gently until all the cereal is evenly coated.
Place the powdered sugar in a large bag. (You could use a large Ziploc type bag but it will probably not be big enough. I used a large paper bag and I recommend doing that.) Add the chocolate/peanut butter and cereal mixture to the bag. Shake the bag vigorously to evenly coat each piece of the puppy chow with powdered sugar.
Once the mixture is fully coated, store in an airtight container.

Notes

Makes 15, 1-cup servings.

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Holiday, Inspiration

Dad’s Like Cupcakes Too

June 13, 2012 No Comments

And cookies. And cake. And brownies. And…well, you get the idea. Sometimes dad’s even like to get in the kitchen and show-off their baking skills! If your dad falls into any of these categories, may I suggest some of the following gifts and ideas, perfect for Father’s Day?

I think every dessert-loving dad should own this shirt. Ok, scratch that–every REAL MAN should own this shirt.

Real Men Can Bake apron. Says it all.

These beer themed sugar cookies are soooo cute. Oh, maybe cute is the wrong word…probably not very manly. Oh well.

He likes pancakes? And bacon? And beer? No problem–he can have all three for breakfast! Nothing says “love ya, dad” like Beer and Bacon Pancakes.

Bakery Reviews

Bakery Review – TwentyOne Cakes in Nixa, MO

March 14, 2012 No Comments

Cupcake places are popping up everywhere! It’s madness I tell you! Delicious, sweet (slightly sickening) madness! Believe it or not, after Jeremy and I stopped at Stacey’s Sweets in Ozark, we hightailed it to Nixa to try ANOTHER new cupcake joint. I have to be honest…this place was good but after trying several different kinds of cupcakes and a brownie at Stacey’s Sweets, I probably was a little sugared out at this point. TwentyOne Cakes is in a house turned bakery right on Highway 14. It’s a very straightforward, unassuming place. I was surprised to walk in and see the cupcakes were actually mini cupcakes which I was VERY thankful for after gorging ourselves on EIGHT regular size ones not even an hour earlier. There were also a couple of different kinds of cake pops, a HUGE peanut butter chocolate chip cookie and I believe there was a cake also that you could get by the slice.

My only criticism of this bakery was the lack of just a basic cupcake. Most of the flavors were somewhat unique and different if not what some might consider “odd” and I really like to try at least a couple basic cupcakes when I go somewhere new. Then again I might have just come on the wrong day. I did however think her cakes were nice and moist (which is impressive for minis!) and the buttercreams were quite delicious. And I wasn’t a fan of the cookie; it wasn’t quite as soft and chewy as I prefer. But hey, that’s just me. Overall, a delicious experience! Here’s what we ended up choosing:

Maple Bacon

German Chocolate

Strawberry

Red Hot

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

If you are in Nixa, check this place out for a sweet fix! And if you’ve been there, let me know what you think!

Brownie, Cake, Candy, Cheesecake, Chocolate, Cookie, Cupcakes, Desserts, Holiday, Ice Cream, Inspiration, Pie

New Year’s Eve Party Mini Desserts

December 27, 2011 1 Comment

I have been in love with mini desserts for years. They are just so darn cute and the fact that you don’t have to pick just ONE dessert but can in fact try several, due to their tiny size, is just awesome to me. I love them so much that I actually used to cater desserts and only did miniature sizes. It was so much fun and sometimes I really miss planning dessert tables for weddings or parties with loads of colorful, bite-size desserts! Thank goodness for the holidays when I can unleash my creative baking skills (obsession?) on all my family and friends!

So, I thought what would be better for a New Year’s Eve party than mini sweets?! Finger foods are VERY popular for New Year’s Eve parties and these desserts stay right with that theme. Some of these are super easy (2-3 ingredients), which is great since you have no doubt been in the kitchen waaaayyyy too much between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also, another way to make easy miniatures is to bake up a normal 9×13 pan of brownies, blondies, cake, etc. and cut them small with a knife or fun-shaped, small cookie cutters or take any regular ‘ole cookie recipe and just make smaller than normal cookies (be sure to cook them for less time!). Ok, let’s check out some other awesome tiny goodies from around the blogosphere:

First up, Mini S’mores Cakes. How cute are these?! Get a lot more mini ideas from Delish here.

I LOVE baklava. Love it. It was the one thing I was looking most forward to indulging in over the Christmas holiday. I’ve actually made Baklava Cups before and they are super good and MUCH less labor intensive than the traditional way. See more ideas from Women’s Day here.

Mini Oreos. Yum.

Mini Ice Cream Cookie Pops. How fun! However, if you’re afraid of the ice cream melting before people can scarf them down, try it with buttercream frosting.

I love these Mini Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats. Rice Krispie treats are sooo classic and just plain good.

Banana Split Bites. Delicious and gorgeous.

Vanilla Bean Baby Doughnuts. Perfect after a night of imbibing.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. One of my favorites.

Poptarts on a stick. Totally awesome. AND easy.

These Chocolate Salted-Caramel Mini Cupcakes look soooo rich and decadent. Pure bliss.

Cut these yummy Red Velvet Brownies super small for bite-size treats.

These Lindt Mini Chocolate Trifles are adorable. Use some larger shot glasses for the cups and think about switching up ingredients…caramel sauce for the fudge, brownies for the cookies, etc.

I have been making Brownie Tassies forever. The only thing I do differently is top them with coffee buttercream and toasted, slivered almonds. People will go nuts over these.

Ummm, excuse me but this Chocolate Covered Bacon Caramel Popcorn is dangerous. Dangerous I tell you!! And I am SO going to make it.

These Mini Cherry Pies are just down right pretty. And begging to be eaten.

I love the playfulness of this Gumdrop Fudge. Very festive and party appropriate. Not to mention easy. We like easy!

Well, hopefully this gives you some inspiration for whatever crazy New Year’s party you may be hosting or attending. Tomorrow I’ll have my own recipe for Mini Doughnut Muffins!