Which ingredients are used for making "ants on a log"?

“Ants on a log” is traditionally made with raisins, peanut butter, and celery.

The snack is assembled by spreading peanut butter into the groove of a celery stick and placing raisins along the top. The celery is the “log,” the peanut butter forms the filling, and the raisins resemble ants walking across it. Its name is playful rather than a reference to an actual historical dish.

The snack is associated with American children’s cooking and was probably popularized during the mid-20th century. A printed mention of “ants on a log” appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1959, although the exact inventor is unknown. Girl Scout cookbooks had featured related celery-stick snacks by the 1940s.

Modern versions can substitute cream cheese, ricotta, or another spread for peanut butter, and blueberries, chocolate chips, or currants for raisins. Those variations explain why recipes sometimes differ, but the classic combination remains celery, peanut butter, and raisins. The phrase “ants on a log” is also occasionally used for related snacks served on pretzels or bananas.