Puppy Chow Candy

You guys will probably think I've lost my mind, posting a back-of-the-box recipe like this. The reason I'm sharing it is because it's quick, easy, and can be made gluten free. And there just might be one or two of you out there who haven't tried it. Sure, it's technically junk food, but it's not all THAT bad. I even made it with coconut oil instead of butter so it's vegan. Points for that, right? Plus, this recipe is very child-friendly, which is ideal for anyone who has young budding chefs eager to help out in the kitchen. Not to mention, it's pretty dang yummy.

For anyone who may not know what Puppy Chow Candy is, it's essentially Chex® cereal mixed with melted chocolate and peanut butter, then sprinkled with powdered sugar. It takes literally 10 minutes to make, and the mess factor is kept to a minimum so cleanup isn't that much of a hassle considering melted chocolate and powdered sugar are involved.

I know the Chex® people have a trademarked name for this recipe, but I like Puppy Chow better than Muddy Buddies®, so that's what I'm calling it. Plus, I don't want to have to keep adding the ® symbol, especially since I'm not even sure if I'm doing it correctly.

Ingredients:

9 cups Rice Chex® (you could actually use any flavor of Chex® cereal, the corn and rice varieties are gluten free)
1 cup chocolate chips (I used 60%, but the original recipe calls for semisweet)
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used the all-natural kind you have to stir)
1/4 cup coconut oil (original recipe calls for butter or margarine)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure out the cereal into a large bowl. Then, place the coconut oil, peanut butter, and chocolate chips in a bowl and melt, either in the microwave or using a double boiler. Add in the vanilla extract and stir until smooth.

  

Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss to coat. Once it's all evenly mixed in, put half in a gallon-sized plastic food storage bag with 3/4 cup powdered sugar and shake until the pieces are evenly coated. Repeat with the remaining Puppy Chow and sugar (or, if you have a 2 gallon bag you can fit it all in at once).

  

Spread the Puppy Chow out on sheets of wax paper to cool, and once dry I store mine in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

As I previously mentioned, I consider this is junk food, which is why I call it Puppy Chow Candy, lest anyone think I'm promoting it as a healthy snack. BUT, you can choose to use healthier ingredients, like all-natural peanut butter and high-quality dark chocolate, which at least makes me feel a bit better about it. Also, I'm wondering about the possibility of using maple syrup in the chocolate mixture to add the sweetness instead of coating the pieces with powdered sugar. I'm not sure if that would make it too runny, and if so how to compensate... That's one I'll need to ponder and possibly play around with later. For now, I'm sticking with what I know works. It doesn't last long in this house!

Truffles (Dairy Free)

I recently found a dairy-free chocolate truffles recipe in The New InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook.Rather than having to melt chocolate and heat cream, these are quickly and easily made in a food processor. My only issue is that the recipe calls for almond pie filling. I assume they mean almond paste, right? I haven't been able to find almond pie filling anywhere.

I made two batches, one with hazelnuts and the other using almonds. They both turned out yummy, and the taste difference is pretty slight. Even when using hazelnuts the almond extract and paste still give these an almond flavor.

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole almonds or hazelnuts, toasted (hazelnuts pictured)
4 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate
1 tablespoon almond pie filling (no clue, so I used almond paste)
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (I just dumped it in with the liqueur)
1 tablespoon strong hot coffee (which is not pictured below as it wasn't yet made)
1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur

Toast the nuts and allow them to cool, then chop them in a food processor until coarsely ground. Remove half and set aside. Add the chocolate to remaining nuts and process until finely ground. Add the almond paste and extract, and process until the mixture starts to come together.

Add the coffee and booze while the food processor motor is running, and process until the mixture becomes slightly thinner and smoother. This mixture will need to chill in the refrigerator for an hour firm up.

  

Then, just roll it into balls, dredge them in the ground nuts, and they're ready to eat. Here is where having colds hands is helpful. I also dredged some of these in cocoa powder, but I ate all of those before I got around to taking pictures of the finished truffles. Also, I apologize for not having any pictures of the assembly process.

 

Inside their texture isn't quite as creamy as traditional truffles, but it's still pretty smooth. Keep these in the refrigerator, but don't plan on them lasting long.

I also made a Chocolate Torte Dressed in Berries from The New Intercourses, and it turned out delicious as well. The whole idea behind this cookbook is that the recipes all contain aphrodisiac ingredients. While there are some lovely pictures in it, none of the photos are of the finished recipes. I don't know why. I kind of like to know what I'm going for when making a new recipe. But, I've been very happy with the recipes I've tried so far.

Time to Make the (Gluten-Free) Doughnuts

This will most likely be the last recipe from Gluten-Free Baking that I'll have time to make before returning it back to the library. Unless I decide to renew it, which is looking more and more likely because there are still some things in here I need to make. I bet you guys are getting tired of seeing this banner anyway. I promise the next recipe I post will be from a different book.

My kids love doughnuts. I spent some time working in a doughnut bakery years ago while I was newly pregnant with my first child, and having that sickly-sweet deep fry smell overwhelm my nostrils every morning was more than enough to put me off them for a while. Like, forever, actually. But the photo in this cookbook looks so deliciously tempting, I just had to make them.

Gluten-Free Doughnuts

1 1/3 cups (8 oz) flour blend #3
1 1/3 cup (8 oz) flour blend #4
1 1/4 tablespoon guar gum
3/4 cup (6 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons instant yeast
1 1/4 ups (10 oz) milk, warmed
3/4 cup (6 oz) butter, melted
3 egg yolks
As needed for garnish: powdered sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon sugar

Mix together the flour blends, guar gum, sugar, baking powder, and yeast. In separate bowl, mix togather milk, melted butter, and egg yolks.

 

Combine wet and dry ingredients together and blend with a mixer for 4 minutes or until completely smooth. As you can see, mine looks a bit crumbly and dry, as opposed to "completely smooth" so I was a bit concerned that I did something wrong. Again. Nevertheless, not having made these before, I wasn't sure what the dough was supposed to look like at this point, so I carried on.

Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes, covered. My kitchen was rather chilly this morning, so I put mine in the oven with a dish of boiling water to add some humidity and warmth.

Place the dough in a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch opening and pipe doughnut-shaped pieces onto parchment paper. I used a disposable plastic piping bag and just cut the end off since I don't have a proper pastry tip with a 1/2-inch opening. Let me just say that the dough was really stiff (I still don't think it was supposed to be that dry) so it was hard to squeeze out of the bag. Also, it didn't want to stick together. You can see where I kind of shaped it back into one piece with my fingers.

Proof doughnuts for 20 minutes in warm, humid environment (again, stick a pan of boiling water in the oven with them and keep the door closed).

  

Fry the doughnuts, 2 or 3 at a time, in 300 degree oil for 5-6 minutes. Definitely get a thermometer for this, as the oil temperature fluctuates and needs constant watching and adjustment. Also, these wanted to fall apart on me. I usually use chopsticks to fish doughnuts out of hot oil, but for these I had to use a slotted spoon.

  

While still warm, dredge with sugar of choice. This recipe is supposed to make 20 doughnuts, but I only got 19 out of it. Well, 15 if you count the ones that made it through the frying process intact. The ones that fell apart were our "testers" so they weren't around long enough to be in the photo.

I let mine cool on a rack over a sheet pan lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil. The texture of these are like cake doughnuts as opposed to yeast doughnuts. Personally, I think they're a bit heavy and rather stodgy. Maybe they're not supposed to be, though. Mine don't look nearly as good as the ones in the book. Also, they're pretty bland and have an aftertaste, which isn't totally unpleasant, but I'd rather they didn't have it. The next time I make them, I think I'll add some freshly grated nutmeg to the dough. Maybe that'll help cover up the aftertaste.

Still, for gluten-free doughnuts, I don't think they came out all that bad, considering it's my first attempt. I wish they had risen more. I mean, with 3 tablespoons of yeast in there they should be raising the roof. Oh, and since these are piped instead of rolled and then cut, there are no doughnut holes, unless you pipe some.

Flour Blend #3
5.25 oz (3/4 cup) white rice flour
14.25 oz (4 cups) potato starch
1.25 oz (5 tablespoons) guar gum
3.38 oz (1/2 cup) albumen

Flour Blend #4
8 oz (1 1/2 cups) white rice flour
8 oz (1 3/4 cups) tapioca starch
8 oz (2 1/4 cups) soy flour (defatted)