Tuesday's Twist: Chocolate-Chipotle Puppy Chow

Tuesday's Twist:  A basic recipe with a fun twist.  In other words, just another excuse for me to play around with weird recipes I've been dying to try.

Due to some, shall we say.....adventures in the kitchen yesterday, Tuesday's Twist and Weird Recipe Wednesday are switching places this week.  Unless you would prefer to have cake batter erupting out of a loaf pan and oozing down the sides as it bakes?  Yeah, me neither.  That was fun.

And since time flies when you're having fun, today is already Weird Recipe Wednesday.  Are you ready for another sweet-savory combination?  Two of the last magazines I've read have featured recipes pairing chocolate with chipotle.  One recipe was for brownies and the other for chocolate crinkle cookies.  Both tasty I'm sure, but I'm trying (sort of??) to not post bars or cookies every single day in December.  I've been looking for a good excuse to make puppy chow.  Oh look, I found it, let's go.

Puppy chow is one of those go-to, easy-to-make treats that everyone loves.  Yet I rarely make it; probably because it's so messy, and addicting.  Crunchy cereal enrobed in chocolate and peanut butter then sealed with a melt-in-your-mouth dusting of powdered sugar.  I can handle that kind of messy much better than overflowing streams of cake batter.

Did you know that the chipotle chile is actually a smoked and dried jalapeno?  Oh, well you do now.  The chipotle chile has been described as having a sweet and smokey, almost chocolaty flavor (source).  So you see, pairing it with chocolate really isn't all that weird.  It actually works much better than chocolate and jalapeno.  The traditional sweet and chocolaty notes of puppy chow are slowly followed by pinch a smokey heat.  I imagine smoked almonds would add a nice touch as well.  I don't imagine that cake will find enough holiday cheer to clean up after itself.

Chocolate-Chipotle Puppy Chow

Ingredients:
5 cups corn-and-rice cereal hexagons or squares
1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 tsp coconut oil
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions:
* Place cereal in a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid; set aside.
* In a microwave-safe bowl combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, chipotle and coconut oil. Microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth and melted. Pour over cereal and still well until all pieces are evenly coated.
* Add powdered sugar and tightly seal lid of bowl. Shake until cereal pieces are coated with powdered sugar. Let cool; store in airtight container.

Food for Thought: "Study hard what interests you in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible." -Richard P. Feynman