Biscoff Puppy Chow

New Year year five. Ida is two and three months and she stayed up until eight forty-five which is essentially midnight in toddler time. Tyler and I watched the ball drop and Ida was asleep and the duplex was quiet and I ate black-eyed peas from the pot at midnight with Tyler standing in the kitchen, both of us in our pajamas, not because it was romantic but because it was ours.

Crystal called on New Year Day. She said: how is Ida. I said: she says thirty-seven words now, I counted. Crystal laughed. She said: of course you counted. I said: I keep lists. She said: I know, you told me. Then she said: I want to come see her this year. Not just the photographs. I want to come up there. I said: yes. Come up. She said: in the spring maybe. I said: in the spring. She said: okay. She said it with the firmness of someone who means it this time. I said: okay. I will be here. She said she knew.

The garden plans for this year include more tomatoes, two pepper plants, a cucumber vine, and Tyler has mentioned herbs. Basil and rosemary. He researched the herbs. He watched four videos about growing rosemary. He is going to grow the best rosemary in Millbrook and he is going to do it with complete intention. I love him completely for this.

The small Bright Beginnings Daycare in the small downtown Prattville is the small workplace. The small toddler-room teacher role (ages 18-36 months). The small daycare-worker-salary plus the small fiancé-Cole’s small carpenter-paycheck is the small two-income engaged-couple budget. The small wedding-saving has been the small two-year-project.

Tyler Clarke (the small fiancé, 29, diesel-mechanic-from-Millbrook) works at a small trucking-company. The small wedding is planned for October 2026 with Gloria walking Savannah down the aisle. The small marriage will be the small first-stable-adult-relationship Savannah has had. The small foster-care upbringing means the small family-of-origin had been the small unstable-shape.

The small foster-care-history: Savannah went into the small Alabama-foster-care system at age six after the small mother’s incarceration and the small father’s absence. The small seven-foster-placements between infancy and age sixteen. The small last placement (Gloria and James Martin in Prattville, who became the small forever-parents) since age fourteen. The small Martin-foster-parents continued to be the small only-parents until James died in 2024 at 77 from a heart-attack mowing the lawn.

The small self-taught-Southern-cooking is the small kitchen-identity. The small no-grandmother-recipes-passed-down meant the small YouTube-and-cookbook-self-teaching from age sixteen onward. The small fried chicken, the small biscuits, the small mac-and-cheese, the small banana pudding, the small sweet tea are the small staples.

The small Gloria-Martin kitchen-mentorship (Gloria is the small foster-mom-now-mom) has been the small adult-cooking-development since the small fourteen-year-old. The small Gloria-Sunday-dinners-with-Savannah-cooking-now are the small weekly-rhythm since James passed. The small Gloria-recipes (Black-Southern-comfort-food the small chain of Gloria’s mother and grandmother) are the small heritage-by-adoption.

The small Prattville-small-town-community is the small social-context. The small First Baptist Church congregation is the small church-family. The small daycare-coworkers are the small adjacent-friend-network. The small Martin-family (Gloria, James who passed in 2024, plus the small current-foster-child Destiny age 6 in Gloria’s care) is the small chosen-family. The small Tyler’s-family-in-Millbrook (Debbie, Roy, and four-brothers) is the small in-law-family.

We ate the black-eyed peas standing at the stove, Tyler and I, the duplex quiet and Ida already asleep, and it was exactly right — not glamorous, just ours. When I think about what I would have put out on that counter if I’d had more energy that night, it would have been something like this Biscoff Puppy Chow: sweet, no-fuss, the kind of thing you shake together in a bag and eat by the handful while the credits roll on whatever movie you almost stayed awake for. Gloria introduced me to cookie butter the winter I was sixteen, and I’ve been finding excuses to use it ever since.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 10

Ingredients

9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 cup Biscoff cookie butter (creamy)
1 cup white chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup crushed Biscoff cookies (about 8 cookies), for topping

Instructions

Prep your cereal. Measure the Rice Chex into a very large mixing bowl and set aside. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Melt the coating. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the Biscoff cookie butter, white chocolate chips, and butter. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted and smooth, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes total. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt.
Coat the cereal. Pour the warm Biscoff mixture over the Chex cereal. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold and stir until every piece is evenly coated.
Bag and shake. Transfer the coated cereal to a large zip-top bag or back into the bowl. Add the powdered sugar, seal, and shake vigorously (or stir well) until all pieces are coated and no wet spots remain.
Spread and cool. Pour the puppy chow onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed Biscoff cookies evenly over the top.
Set and serve. Allow to cool at room temperature for at least 10 minutes until the coating is firm. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Biscoff Puppy Chow — The Midnight Snack We Made in Our Pajamas