Skip the giant bowl and powdered sugar explosion by turning puppy chow into easy-to-eat bark that's perfect for holiday platters. Simply pour it into a 9×13 pan, let it set, break it apart, and enjoy the perfect finger food!
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Why You'll Love This Puppy Chow Bark
- No shaking in a giant mixing bowl
- No messy hands when eating
- Uses one 9×13 pan
- Easy to break into bite-sized pieces for holiday platters
It still has all the flavors you expect. Chocolate, peanut butter, crunchy cereal, and a light dusting of powdered sugar. J
Storage & Freezing
Store puppy chow bark in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. If your kitchen runs warm, you can also store it in the refrigerator to keep it extra firm.
This bark can be frozen, but I recommend waiting to add the powdered sugar until after it has thawed. Moisture from thawing can cause the powdered sugar to melt.
Watch me make this!
Puppy Chow Bark
Ingredients
Chocolate Mixture
- 4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (2) 12-ounce bags is enough
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup unsalted butter i.e. ½ stick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Center Layer & Topping
- 2 cups Chex mix cereal I use Rice Chex
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter you can add more if you want it extra peanut buttery
- ¼ cup powdered sugar If you're using a sieve to dust, you won't need very much
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor afterwards and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13" pan with nonstick cooking spray and cover with parchment paper (the spray helps the paper stick to the pan so it doesn't shift as easily).
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips (4 cups), peanut butter (½ cup), and unsalted butter (¼ cup, i.e. ½ stick). Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until completely melted and smooth.
- Stir in the vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Pour about half of the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. You can tap it against the counter to help the chocolate flatten.
- Warm the remaining peanut butter (¼ cup) in the microwave for 15-20 seconds just until pourable, then drizzle it evenly over the chocolate layer.
- Sprinkle the Chex cereal evenly over the chocolate layer. Gently press it down so it settles into the chocolate.
- Drizzle the remaining chocolate mixture over the top and spread gently to cover everything. It's okay if it looks a little messy...it will be covered in powdered sugar! 😉
- Refrigerate for 30 to 45 minutes, or until set. You can put in the freezer to speed up.
- Once firm, lift the bark out using the parchment paper, lightly dust the top with powdered sugar (a sieve or fine-mesh strainer works best), and cut or break into pieces.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
After I added the vanilla, the chocolate was not pourable. It was stiff and I had a hard time spreading it on the parchment. I’m going to add a little milk to the remaining chocolate to see if it pour over the Chex mixture.
I was a little nervous when I was trying to spread the chocolate and it appeared like it was already hardening but the tapping on the counter did the trick to smooth things out and these turned out fantastic and the added bonus of less time and less mess. Miss more of the powdered sugar coating but they are still amazing.
Glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Megan! Thank you for leaving a review!
Ok. Really.
This was INCREDIBLE! I love puppy chow, but not the ick and stick of tradition chow. The bark, that I cut into square pieces---cause if I don't like the ick and stick, I certainly can't do uneven edges was this holidays go to sweet snack.
Thank you for this pan cookie!
Thank you so much for leaving a review! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe so much!
Love this recipe!! Brought the puppy chow bark to my Christmas gathering and it was a hit. Received raving reviews from my grandpa who is very particular about his desserts. Will certainly be making again!
LOVE - I love puppy chow but detest the process and this is way less painful. My only recommendation would be to use a bigger pan. The bark is a bit deep to be considered "bark" and the layers can separate. Next time I'll use a jelly roll pan. Also - unrelated to this recipe but I love all you do and wish your website were a bit more functional to non-paying guests. The ads make it almost unusable on a laptop or ipad. Page jumps around, lags, reloads randomly - it's bad.
Love all your recipes! This one is especially tasty and so easy!
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Sydney!
Much easier way to enjoy Puppy Chow! It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Tomma!
Such a simple to make, oh so delicious treat! Easy to gift or add to a goodie platter. All the enjoyment of puppy chow with much less of the mess.
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a review, Abbie!