Back in 2008 I was staring my first Gluten Free Christmas straight in the face. I was determined to conquer it but had some trepidation. I was however relieved that Will was now in the 6th grade and at the middle school they did not have Christmas parties like the big shebangs at the elementary school. Then I got this email.
"The kids have decided to have a little celebration during homeroom on the last day before Christmas break. Instead of sending things to eat, the kids voted and everyone just send $3.oo and we will get chicken biscuits."
Well Crap! Sorry that is not nice but it is exactly what went through my head. But I collected my thoughts and emailed the teacher and asked if I could send a little snack to go with the biscuits. She of course said yes and then I panicked cause I didn't know what to make. I had not at all mastered GF baking and my worst fear was some kids spitting something out and yelling that it tasted wierd. So I decided on Puppy Chow.
This puppy chow.
You know. Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Butter. Powdered sugar. All kinds of yummy. In college we called this White Trash. I'm less tacky now and we call it Puppy Chow. At least I think that's less tacky.
Anyway. Long story short. Stayed up really, really late. Made enough puppy chow for 27 huungry 12 year olds. Let it chill. Put it into 28 individual bags (the teacher needs one of course) and tied them up with cute Christmas ribbon. I might have made cute tags. I can't remember because it was THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!
I sent him to school the next morning with the beautiful bags of puppy chow (Odd sentence). So happy and relieved that he would have something to eat for the party and if I'm honest here, pretty pleased as punch with myself. I'm just that kind of mom I tell myself.
When he got home that afternoon I excitedly asked how the party was.
"Good"
"And the puppy chow? How did everyone like the puppy chow?"
"Oh everyone loved it. I THREW MINE AWAY THOUGH BECAUSE I DON'T LIKE CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER."
People, he threw it away. Didn't even try a bit beacuse he knew he wouldn't like it. He threw it away. And was not even tramatized that he didn't have a biscuit. You know why? Because he didn't like chicken biscuits in the first place. He wouldn't have eaten it if he could.
This was a major lesson for me as the mother of a GF child. Know what's important to your kid. He didn't care about that biscuit or that puppy chow. Don't be like me.
Do make puppy chow though (or white trash if you're still in your tacky phase). It is super yummy and more than a little addictive and easy peasy to make GF. I made some this morning because we are going to a family camp this weekend and everyone brings snacks and I'm bringing this because everyone else in the world likes chocolate and peanut butter.
This is what you need:
Let me just say here that there are actual measurements to this recipe and I will give them to you but it's chocolate and sugar and butter and peanut butter. Nobody has ever said "Yuck! Too much chocolate in this." Well, you know. Nobody except my son.
Put 1 stick of butter, 12 oz. of chocolate chips and a cup of peanut butter in a large microwave safe bowl.
I don't like digging peanut butter out of a measuring cup so I guessed. It's close enough. The butter is hiding under there. I microwaved this for one minute and it looked like this.
But stir it a few times and it looks like this:
You can stop here and get a spoon if you want.
Ok. Here is where you add the cereal and I need to make an aside:
The orginial recipe calls for Crispix cereal. You know. Rice on one side. Corn on the other. GF right? NOPE NOPE NOPE!!! Barley Malt flavoring is the culprit in most cereals that seem like they should be GF. Chex cereals are the only main stream cereal that is completely GF that I know of. I use just corn Chex because I like them better but 1/2 box of corn/rice would work just as well. Now back to the show recipe.
Add the whole box of cereal a little at a time
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Mix, mix, mix and it will look like this
Then break out the paper bag.
Dump the cereal in the bag and add about a pound of powdered sugar. And then shake! shake! shake! Just a tip: I take it outside to do this because sometimes the powdered sugar escapes a little. You could also use a large size ziplock.
Here is a peek inside the bag
Dump it into a container and put it in the fride to chill. And you get this.
I prefer this kind of container because it fits well on my lap and makes it easy to dig for the good pieces. Oh and it's easy to transport. I meant to say that first.
Fast, easy, delicious. Regular food that's also GF is awesome! But if you don't want anyone else to eat it just put a little sign on it that says Gluten Free and everyone will leave it alone so there's more for you. Ok. That was tacky and I didn't mean that. Enjoy your puppy chow White Trash.
**Update. Last night I mentioned at the dinner table that I was making puppy chow to take on our trip. Will responded and I quote, "Oh good. That stuff is awesome." I'm not even joking.
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