From Taste of Home · · 2m
Banana Pudding Puppy Chow, 25 Minutes Flat
Two nostalgic desserts collide in a four-ingredient snack you probably won't share.
In brief
Two nostalgic desserts collide in a four-ingredient snack you probably won't share. Three tablespoons of instant banana cream pudding mix is all it takes to turn ordinary puppy chow into banana pudding. Originally reported by Taste of Home.
Two childhood treats, one bowl
Classic puppy chow meets old-fashioned banana pudding in a snack that comes together in 25 minutes, start to finish.
“the perfect mashup of two nostalgic childhood treats”
First, the etiquette lesson
Scoop your share into your own bowl. And if you grab just a piece or two, do not dust the powdered sugar off your hands back over the communal bowl.
“It seems like common sense, but it's a subconscious reflex”
Four ingredients, no wafers
Rice Chex, white almond bark, confectioners' sugar and instant banana cream pudding mix. No vanilla wafers or whipped cream required.
“make this puppy chow taste just like the nostalgic Southern dessert”
Melt the almond bark
Use a double boiler, or microwave it in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second bursts until smooth. Candy melting chips work if you cannot find bark.
Coat the cereal gently
Put 4 cups of Chex in a big bowl, pour over the melted bark and 3 tablespoons of pudding mix, then stir with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.
Shake it in a bag
Tip everything into a gallon zip-top bag, add 1 cup confectioners' sugar, seal it tight and shake. The sugar keeps the sticky pieces from clumping.
Spread, set, serve
Spread the mixture on a sheet pan so it can firm up, then move it to a serving bowl. Makes 8 servings at about 283 calories each.
Add crunch after it sets
Once firm, fold in mini Nilla Wafers, dried banana chips, or roasted pecans or walnuts for a banana-nut version.
Or go peanut butter banana
Melt up to 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter with the almond bark. Use stabilized peanut butter, not natural. Or swap in coconut cream, pistachio, cheesecake or lemon pudding mix.
“The world is your oyster when it comes to using pudding mix”
Rice Chex over corn
Rice Chex is the traditional pick and the recommendation here. Corn Chex works too and gives a richer, more buttery flavor. Ghirardelli vanilla wafers are the favorite candy melt.
Keeps a week on the counter
Airtight at room temperature for one week, refrigerated for two, or frozen for up to two months. No pudding mix? Stir 1/2 teaspoon banana extract into the melted bark.
The headline
Three tablespoons of instant banana cream pudding mix is all it takes to turn ordinary puppy chow into banana pudding.
