Hazelnut-Miso Puppy Chow Bars: A Twist on a Nostalgic Classic

I’m so excited to share these Hazelnut-Miso Puppy Chow Bars with you! One of my favorite childhood treats was puppy chow (aka muddy puddies), that classic mix of Chex cereal coated in peanut butter, chocolate, and butter, then tossed in powdered sugar. But when I revisited it last year, I found it to be a little too sweet and cloying for my taste. So I started playing! My first instinct was to make a hazelnut version, with Nutella rather than peanut butter, dark chocolate, and chopped-up hazelnuts. It was good, but not quite there. Realizing that part of the sweetness issue was the powdered sugar, I started experimenting with turning them into bars. The final version has a pressed Chex base baked until crisp, a Nutella ganache balanced with brown butter and miso, and a crunchy hazelnut puppy chow topping for that nostalgic finish. I finally landed on what may honestly be my new favorite dessert. I tested these extensively and got rave reviews every time, but my testers revealed some…