Chocolate Chex Mix

When I was in 6th grade we had to give presentations for some class or other (I’m not sure I knew what it was for even back then…) and one of my friends made this tasty snack.   And my little 11 year old self was in heaven.  Twelve years later I still love this simple treat and am still disgusted when people call it “puppy chow” — how nasty does that sound?   =/  But whatever you call it, this chex mix is super easy and always popular.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chex Mix

9 cups Chex cereal

1 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Pour the cereal in a large bowl.
2. Mix chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a bowl and microwave for about 15 — 20 seconds, stir, and repeat until it’s all smooth.  Stir in vanilla.
3. Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and stir until it’s all coated.
4. Pour cereal into a large ziploc bag.  Add the powdered sugar, seal the bag, and shake it until the cereal is all coated.

Black Bottom Banana Bars

These are a recent discovery of mine, and now they’re one  of my all time favorite treats!  At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about the chocolatey-banana bready combination, but once I actually tried these, I began to see the light.  These bars are moist and rich (but not too rich) and nice alternative to just plain banana bread or chocolate cake.  Trust me, try these and you’ll fall in love. ❤

Black Bottom Banana Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Frosting

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until creamy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until everything is well incorporated.
3. Mix in the mashed bananas.
4. Mix in everything else except the cocoa powder (and the frosting stuff, of course).
5. Divide the batter in half and mix the cocoa powder in one of the halves.  Spread this half in a 9×13 pan.  Spread the rest of the batter on top.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Let cool.
7. Put all of the frosting ingredients together in a bowl and beat until creamy. Spread on the cooled bars.  Cut and enjoy!  Mmmm.

Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

Now, when people think of Southern food, they often think of biscuits and gravy.  But if you are actually from the South, you know the real treat is biscuits and chocolate gravy.  For those of you unfamiliar with this dish, you should definitely give it a try!

Biscuits  (yield: 24 biscuits) (I sometimes do half wheat and half white flour when I make these and it they still turn out great. Just in case you’re interested. 🙂 )

4 cups AP flour

2 Tbl. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbl. sugar

1 cup slightly chilly butter (or 1 cup shortening- that’s easier to work with, but butter is just so darn good!)

1 1/2 cups milk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Put everything but the milk in a bowl and cut together with a fork until the butter/shortening is well incorporated and the mixture looks crumby (in a good way 😉 ).
3. Stir in the milk just until it makes dough — try not to over-stir.
4. Put the dough on a floured surface and roll out to about an inch thick.  Cut into 2 1/2 inch circles and place on ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes.

*If you’re feeling adventurous with your biscuits, you can add some cinnamon, garlic powder, chives, cheddar cheese, etc… (but I wouldn’t serve the savory ones with the chocolate gravy, of course).

Chocolate Gravy (This is my mom’s recipe and what I had every now and then as a kid.  Just as a note, I used dark cocoa powder in the gravy I made in the picture, so if you use regular cocoa, it won’t look as dark.)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat and whisk in the flour to make a paste.
2. Combine the cocoa and sugar in a small bowl and add it to the flour-butter mixture (called a “roux”– pronounced “roo”) alternately with the milk.
3. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.