Are you kidding me? Nutella Puppy Chow? What am I trying to do to myself? Knowingly making something that I cannot put down. Luckily, I made this for bunko night and shared it with a bunch of my girlfriends. The little bit left over I ate the next day:) Emeril made a Nutella puppy chow (that he called something different) quite a few years ago when I used to be literally addicted to The Food Network. Although, I have made his version, which is totally different from mine. His version is far too chocolaty and you can hardly taste the hazelnuts. I haven’t thought about it for awhile and then suddenly (thank you pregnancy), I had this insane craving for a GOOD Nutella Puppy Chow and after not finding any scouring the Internet, I knew I had to make it up all by myself.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer the cereal portion of my puppy chow with a nice, thick coating of the nutty chocolate topping - I can tell you the bunko girls were picking the larger pieces too! Then my son kept saying, “Mommy, I want a big one.” I’d give him a small one and he’d still eat it but say, “no, BIG one!” It was encouraging that my husband actually liked it, and he is one of those crazy people that doesn’t like regular puppy chow! Now, if we’re talking classic puppy chow, I always use about double the peanut butter and make it crunchy as well. If the puppy chow only has a hint of pb, then forget it. I’d rather eat a spoonful of peanut butter out of the jar!
So, this recipe is actually not healthy, contrary to the lovely title of my blog. However, I used white chocolate chips and bought them at Whole Foods since all the brands at the regular grocery stores have hydrogenated fats in them. Usually, I’m not a fan of white chocolate anyway, but for these, I wanted the consistency of the puppy chow without overwhelming it with too much chocolate. I ate so darn many of these after making them they started to lose flavor so I had to ask the bunko girls if they could taste the hazelnut chocolate and they said definitely! It was a hit! Basically, I figured I needed to stop eating them because when you eat so much of something that it stops tasting like itself, then you’ve OD’d obviously. Geesh. Sorry baby in my belly. And I’m going to apologize in advance to you if you make these. It’s not my fault you couldn’t stop yourself!
Nutella Puppy Chow
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup Nutella
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips (use semi-sweet or dark, milk would be far too sweet and you’d lose the chocolate flavor)
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup hazelnuts
- 13 cups (more or less) or one 12oz box of hearty wheat/corn/rice cereal like Crispix or Chex - try to find a hearty version so it doesn’t break down when stirring (try to find one without preservatives, just read the ingredients on the side of the box)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Method:
- In a 350 degree preheated oven, roast hazelnuts until fragrant and light brown, about 8 minutes
- Allow to cool and remove as much of the skin as you can with a towel
- Grind finely in a food processor, if you don’t have one, a coffee grinder should work
- Put the cereal in a large bowl
- On a pan over medium-low heat, melt butter, chocolate, and white chocolate, stirring constantly
- When all is melted, remove from heat and add Nutella and stir until mixed in, then add hazelnuts and stir well.
- Slowly pour over cereal, wash your hands, and stir with your hands! It’s much easier than with a spoon. This may take some time since the batter is thick, but if you’re patient, you’ll get the lovely thickly coated ones. The cereal that breaks clumps together with the topping and there’s no harm done in that!
- Wash those hands and add the cereal to a gallon sized plastic baggie, add the powdered sugar and shake shake shake! I like to start with less powdered sugar and slowly add it - too much powdered sugar and that’s all you taste! You just want that white coating right after the light brown stage - not to over-do the sweetness.
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I could woof this puppy chow down in a hot minute (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun…I know, I’m not funny).
Belinda,
Is it bad that I thought that was funny?
oh this looks so good!!!
This was soooo good! Great job Ann.
p.s. Did you know a spoonful of peanut butter out of the jar cures the hiccups?! Ive only tried creamy peanut butter but it works like a charm ever time.
These are dangerously delicious!
Wow, looks so yummy. I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them!
oh my… i don’t think i’d be able to stop myself with a bowl of these!
This is an amazingly addictive and luscious and sinful and sweet recipe! Let’s see: if I made it this minute, it would be gone in -what- 30 minutes from now?
Taste of Beirut - yes, it in fact will be gone quickly. I bought the ingredients to make it again and have been obsessing over it. It’s terrible. Trying to satisfy the craving with chocolate hazelnut granola but I will for sure end up breaking down and making it again within the weekend. Good luck!
Ann… just tried nutella for the first time, and I’m wondering if I can get it intravenously? Oh my. I ate the entire jar in 2 days.
Julie, how in the heck did it take you this long to try Nutella? It’s pretty amazing- I had some just now - dipped some graham sticks in there:)
*thud* Oh. my. Goodness.
Just made this and could NOT stop eating! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Mixing it with my hands was the hardest part (for me), but the pay off was worth it because I felt like a kid standing over the sink literally licking my hands clean! *chuckle*
Dana…:) I don’t like having to mix with your hands with this either- but it’s totally worth it. I have to only make this when I’m going to a party or something or otherwise I will literally stand there and inhale it without even tasting it after awhile but it’s hard to stop anyway.
I just used nutella, powdered sugar, and some chex mix. ._.” its so yummy. And only took me 5 minutes.
Thanks to the magic of Pinterest, I just came across this recipe. This looks DELICIOUS, and I LOVE nutella. Any alternative to the ground hazelnuts? I don’t have a grinder or food processor but want to still have that taste. Thinking of making tonight for a snack during a meeting tomorrow!
Marissa- you could always try some hazelnut flavoring (hard to find) or hazelnut oil - but my cousin omitted the hazelnuts and said it wasn’t near as good!
How long can you store the puppy chow?
I am so excited to read this, since I’ve not made ANY of the muddy-buddies/puppy chow since we learned my granddaughter is allergic to peanuts. Here is a wonderful alternative!! And I just saw Costco has Nutella on sale….. it must be a SIGN!! (so where does one buy hazelnuts?)
Robin- you can buy hazelnuts at Whole Foods, Trader Joes in season (Fall/Winter?) and at your local grocery store health bin aisle if they have one - ya know…where they have trail mix and yogurt covered raisins and whatnot. Hope you find them! If you have a TJ’s and it’s in season, that’s the best bet for your $ by far.
I have some hazelnut flour in my pantry, do you think that would work in place of the hazelnuts?
Caitlin - I wouldn’t use the hazelnut flour since it’s too finely ground and it hasn’t been toasted- which majorly brings out the hazelnut flavor. If you tried it, let me know!
This is so dangerous. Puppy Chow has always been my weakness, and as a college student, it gets me through all the studying and paper writing! This is a must-try, and the girls in my sorority house will LOVE it!
THESE ARE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for the recipe - making it for my daughters sorority house - this is rush week need to keep the girls at IU energized!
Thank you so much for posting this version of puppy chow. I have a great nephew that has a peanut allergy so he could not have the original version. Thanks again.
Judy