Traditional Muddy Buddies

Need a last minute sweet Super Bowl snack idea? Muddy Buddies (a.k.a "puppy chow") are about the quickest thing you can make and they are a no fail hit! It's been awhile since I have made traditional Muddy Buddies as I have been enjoying testing out other flavor combinations, but the traditional peanut butter and chocolate never gets old or boring and after making them I can say they are just as addicting as I remember them. Other recipes you will see call for less peanut butter and chocolate and honestly, I am not sure why. I think the amounts that I use are perfect and any less would not coat the cereal enough.

See below the recipe if you are interested in other muddy buddy flavors.

Traditional Muddy Buddies
How I Did It:

9 cups Rice Chex
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup milk chocolate chips
1/8 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter. Once they start to melt a bit, stir to speed up the process. Once melted, stir in the vanilla.

2. Dump 9 cups of Rice Chex cereal into a large bowl. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal and gently stir until all of the cereal is well coated.

3. Pour the powdered sugar over the chocolatey Chex and gently stir to coat.

4. Spread out the coated Chex on a long piece of parchment paper to dry.

5. Once dry store in an airtight container for up to a week (ha, like it would last that long)


Other types of Muddy Buddies worth trying:

• S'mores Muddy Buddies
• Andes Mints Muddy Buddies
• Harvest Muddy Buddies (Taking out the Halloween M&M's, I call this "Black and White Muddy Buddies"

S'mores Muddy Buddies

I used to think I loved chocolate covered raisins way too much. That was until I made my own muddy buddies (or puppy chow if you prefer). In continuing with my tradition of always trying new variations I have gone rogue and used honey grahams cereal instead of rice Chex for these s'mores flavored muddy buddies. Summer is s'mores season and I adore s'mores. I do love the crunch of the Chex, but the flavor that honey grahams add is worth the substitute. And of course adding a bit of Nutella makes everything a whole lot better. I love peanut butter, but using Nutella instead is definitely the way to go here. These muddy buddies are amazing.

S'mores Muddy Buddies
How I Did It:

6 cups Honey Grahams
3/4 cup Nutella
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup powdered sugar


1. In a double broiler or medium heat, melt the Nutella and the chocolate chips together, stirring occasionally.

2. While the Nutella/chocolate mixture is melting, lay out a large sheet of parchment paper on a flat work surface and pour the Honey Grahams into a large bowl.

3. Once the Nutella and chocolate chips have melted and are well combined, remove from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the mini marshmallows.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and gently stir to coat. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of mini marshmallows. Keep mixing until all of the cereal is coated.

5. Slowly, in 3-4 stages, pour the powdered sugar over the chocolate covered cereal and stir to coat. Keep gently mixing until it is evenly coated.

6. Carefully pour the wet muddy buddies onto the parchment paper and spread out so it can dry. Once dry, pour back into a bowl to serve or store in an airtight container for later enjoyment.

Andes Mints Muddy Buddies

Muddy buddies (or puppy chow if you'd prefer) is one of the most addicting desserts. I think part of the reason is that it feels a bit like a snack and it's easy to just pop in your mouth. You think, I'll just have a couple and then all of a sudden you have eaten the whole bowl! Also, they're delicious. Aside from the original peanut butter and chocolate muddy buddies (which are fantastic as they are), I have also made Harvest/Halloween Muddies Buddies and coconut muddy buddies. I'm not sure which are my favorite, but if you like mint and chocolate, you'll love these. I had some leftover and friends who have been over open up on the bowl to take a couple handfuls every time they walk by. I can't say that I blame them!

Andes Mints Muddy Buddies
How I Did It:

5 cups Rice Chex
2 boxes Andes Chocolate Mints
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp red sprinkles
1/2 tbsp green sprinkles

1. In a double-boiler, melt the Andes Mints and chocolate chips.

2. While the chocolate is melting, pour the Rice Chex into a large bowl and set aside. Pour the powdered sugar into a separate bowl and mix the sprinkles in.

3. Once the chocolate starts to get glossy, stir to speed up the melting. Pour immediately over the Chex and gently stir to combine. At first it might not seem like enough chocolate, but keep stirring until the Chex is fully and fairly evenly coated.

4. 1/2 cup at a time, pour the powdered sugar mixture over the gooey Chex. Stir to coat. Make sure all of the cereal is completely coated in powdered sugar. If it's warm out, you might want to lay it out flat to dry. Once dry, cover and store in an airtight container. Will last for several days before starting to get stale.

Harvest Muddy Buddies

Muddy buddies, puppy chow, monkey munch...whatever you call it, you know it's good. If you don't know how good it is, then you have probably never tried it. Chocolatey and peanut buttery, it manages to be delightfully crunchy and melt in your mouth at the same time. I've made it several times, but I saw a picture on Pinterest for "Halloween Puppy Chow" and thought it would be prefect to take to a (post) Halloween party. Credit for the idea goes all to Your Cup of Cake, although I can't say I used her recipe. What a great idea to put a holiday theme on a quick and easy dessert snack. Oh, and it's really, really good...in that addicting sort of way. I welcome you to try to make it without sampling any along the way!

Harvest Muddy Buddies
How I Did It:

18 cups of Rice Chex
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups Reese's Pieces
1 1/2 cups Halloween M&M's

1. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a double boiler, melt 1/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup peanut butter, and white chocolate. While it's melting, pour 9 cups of the Chex cereal into a large mixing bowl. Once the butters and white chocolate start to melt, stir to speed up melting, add 1 tsp vanilla and continue to stir to smooth and combine.

3. Pour white chocolate mixture over the cereal and gently mix to coat evenly.

4. Coat the bottom of a casserole dish or brownie pan with 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Pour the Chex mixture on top and gently mix to coat. Add 3/4 cup more of powdered sugar to finish coating the cereal.

5. Spread cereal out of the prepared cookie sheet to dry.

6. In a double boiler, melt 1/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup peanut butter, and the semi-sweet chocolate. While it's melting, pour 9 cups of the Chex cereal into a large mixing bowl. Once the butters and chocolate start to melt, stir to speed up melting, add 1 tsp vanilla and continue to stir to smooth and combine.

7. Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and gently mix to coat evenly.

8. Coat the bottom of a casserole dish or brownie pan with 1 cup of the powdered sugar. Pour the Chex mixture on top and gently mix to coat. Add 3/4 cup more of powdered sugar to finish coating the cereal.

9. Spread cereal out on the separate prepared cookie sheet to dry.

10. Once the cereals have dried out a bit (you are waiting for them to be less sticky), combine together and add the candies. Serve immediately or it is good for at least two weeks if kept in an air-tight container.