Cinnamon Witch Bits {Puppy Chow}

Before I began food blogging the only Puppy Chow I had heard of was made by Purina and it was indeed for dogs. Once blogging I have uncovered foods I never knew existed, Puppy Chow being one of them. It looked cute but since it was based on a coated cereal I looked no further due to the gluten content.

I am obsessed with Halloween at the moment. Like I need a 12 step program obsessed. I’m plotting out the remaining blogging days until Halloween with a bit of sadness like I’ve heard brides have after planning their weddings for two years once it’s done (I eloped to Fiji and was married in a native wedding, in native garb on a beach; my wedding planning consisted of answering 5 questions on a fax and writing a check so I can’t relate to the wedding let down).

I’ve added this year to my collection of spooky recipes with main dishes, drinks, sweets and felt a little snack was in order. I liked the Puppy Chow idea with a twist. I found myself wondering what type of snacks a witch would eat….

For fun I looked up Puppy Chow on Wikipedia. I realized why it had slipped by West Coast and Rocky Mountain radar as it’s a very Midwest regional treat. There are multiple versions of Puppy Chow based on the cereal type used; Muddy Buddies is the official name if using Chex, and Sweet Minglers if using Crispix. Who knew?! Typically the cereal is coated with a melted chocolate and peanut butter mixture, and then tossed in confectioner’s sugar.

My tween and I set out on an early morning quest to pull together a Halloween-inspired version of Puppy Chow for Witches (and humans of course). I had cinnamon in mind since Witches themselves are not particular sweet but have a bite. We were delighted to find gluten-free Chex cereal in a Cinnamon flavor. As you’d expect from mainstream breakfast cereals, it’s sweet; like, maybe-for-dessert-instead-of-breakfast sweet. Perfect for our Witch Bits.

Instead of chocolate, Pumpkin Spice Kisses caught our fancy and coupled with some butterscotch chips made a perfect coating. We wanted to add some extra items that might appeal to a Witch’s palate. I asked my tween ‘What do Witches eat do you think?’  Without skipping a beat he answered ‘Children’. We headed off to find some Sour Patch Kids, Worms and Red Hots seemed witchy too.

I think our version is sure to sweeten up even the most wicked of witches! And delight little ghosts and goblins too.

Cinnamon Witch Bits {Puppy Chow}

Witch Bits are a seasonal take on traditional Puppy Chow using cinnamon cereal coated with a mix of Pumpkin Spice Kisses and Butterscotch chips. Interlaced with candy any witch is sure to love makes this an easy, fun treat for any Halloween celebration.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 14 cups

Calories: 276kcal

Author: Toni Dash

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Ingredients

• ▢ 9 cups Cinnamon Chex Cereal (gluten-free) (approximately 1 ½ 13.5-ounce boxes)
• ▢ ¼ pound (4 tablespoons) unsalted Butter
• ▢ ½ cup Butterscotch Baking Chips
• ▢ 1 package (10 ounces) Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses, unwrapped
• ▢ 1 ½ cups Confectioner’s Sugar
• ▢ Extra bits: Caramel Apple Sugar Babies (1-5 ounce box), Sour Patch Kids (2 3.5-ounce boxes), Hot Tamales (1-5 ounce box), Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers (1-5 ounce bag)

Instructions

• Place Chex in a large bowl.
• In a double boiler (or in a metal bowl placed above a saucepan of boiling water) melt the butter.
• Once butter is melted, add the butterscotch chips, stirring constantly until fully melted.
• Add the Kisses and stir constantly until fully melted. Remove from heat immediately and pour over the Chex cereal. Toss to fully coat the cereal.
• Place coated cereal in a 2 gallon zippered plastic bag. Pour in confectioner’s sugar, seal, to shake aggressively to fully coat the cereal. Turn the bag upside down and sideways to ensure all the sugar is absorbed onto the cereal.
• Pour the mixture in a single layer onto wax paper. Allow to dry and harden (approximately 30-45 minutes). Note: an alternative to using a 2 gallon bag is to divide the mixture evenly between two 1 gallon zippered plastic bags, adding ¾ cups confectioners’ sugar to each bag and proceeding with the coating steps indicated above.
• Place in a bowl and toss in extra candy.

Nutrition

Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 252mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 635IU | Vitamin C: 5.1mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 12.2mg

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