Day Two Hundred Fifty-Five

If ever there was an excuse to skip all of the serious work involved with the holidays, a pandemic is it, right? RIGHT? I was pretty sure I was going to skip all of the baking and cookies and junk food given that we aren't going anywhere and shipping that stuff isn't terribly efficient.

And then came Alexis.

Alexis made a list of things that are Mandatory Baking. Screw the pandemic. She has demands. She doesn't care that I won't be able to take the extras to an office or gift the majority to family. SHE WANTS THINGS.

So, fine. The holiday prep shall begin. It's not starting with cookies, though. It's starting with Puppy Chow.

Puppy Chow
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff--that imitation crud is for wimps)
9 cups Crispix cereal
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Place the powdered sugar in a large paper bag and set aside.

Combine the peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips in a large pot and melt over medium/low heat. Stir constantly. Once fully melted, remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir. Pour the cereal in the pot and use a rubber spatula to gently stir the mixture until the cereal is fully coated with the chocolate mixture.

Pour the cereal mixture into the paper bag with the powdered sugar, close the bag tightly, and shake. Shake some more. And shake some more. You're done when the cereal is fully coated and looks a little bit like Purina Puppy Chow.

Now guard the stuff under lock and key. Really.