Thanksgiving Puppy Chow
Thanksgiving Puppy Chow is your favorite sweet treat turned it into a fun Thanksgiving inspired snack with festive candy pumpkins, Reese’s pieces, and more!
A.K.A. MUDDY BUDDIES
Whether you call this Muddy Buddies or Puppy Chow, it’s a classic snack that everyone seems to love. It’s made with powdered sugar covered cereal that’s been coated in chocolate and peanut butter and we’ve added adorable Thanksgiving themed candies – all you need for a sweet and crunchy treat. It makes for the cutest (and yummiest) sweet snack to have out for guests this holiday season!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Sure! I used the mallowcreme pumpkins and the Reese’s pieces to give off all the Thanksgiving vibes and color scheme, but any M&M’s and other candies can be added. You can also add some candy corn for another festive touch.
I think it depends on your level of toleration for “a bunch of hands dipping into a bowl.” Some folks are fine and others prefer not. So, having said that, yes it can be put in a large bowl or you can break it up into smaller bowls scattered around.
The best option for our germ averse friends is you could put some of the puppy chow in individual cellophane bags with some decorative ribbon and hand them out.
This snack mix can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature. It can be stored in the refrigerator
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- rice Chex cereal – you can pretty much use any of the Chex flavors (corn, wheat, honey nut) you enjoy for this. Also, if you are able to find Crispix cereal near you, it is a good substitute.
- semi-sweet chocolate chips – you could use milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips as well. I think the semi-sweet brings the right balance since everything else is so sweet.
- creamy peanut butter – I have never tried this with other nut butters or natural peanut butter so I can’t say for certain how well they work here. It seems to me that something like an almond butter would work since it is the same consistency as peanut butter. If you try it, I’d love to know if it works well.
- unsalted butter – if all you have is salted, that will work just fine.
- vanilla extract – honestly, I think if you don’t have vanilla extract, don’t sweat it. I think it would still taste perfectly fine without it.
- powdered sugar – this part is the messiest part of the whole deal. Placing it in a large gallon size Ziploc bag works best but if you don’t have that then put it in a really large bowl so you have plenty of space to stir everything without it getting everywhere.
- mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, Reese’s pieces and mallowcreme pumpkins – you can have a lot of fun with this recipe and change up the add-ins. You need to let the puppy chow cool though before adding these.
HOW TO MAKE THANKSGIVING PUPPY CHOW
Place parchment paper in a large baking pan and set it aside. Put Chex cereal in a big mixing bowl. In a medium-sized bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Heat in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring each time, until it’s smooth and melted. Then, add the vanilla extract and mix.
Pour the melted chocolate mix over the Chex cereal and gently stir it with a spatula until it’s well coated.
In a large Ziploc bag, put powdered sugar along with the chocolate-covered Chex cereal. Seal the bag and shake it until the cereal is evenly coated with the sugar. Spread the coated cereal on the prepared baking sheet and let it cool.
Before serving, mix in the mini peanut butter cups, Reese’s pieces, and mellowcreme pumpkins with the cereal. Enjoy!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Thanksgiving Puppy Chow
Ingredients
- 4 cups rice chex cereal
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup mini Reese’s peanut butter cups
- ½ cup Reese’s pieces
- ¾ cup mallowcreme pumpkins
Instructions
- Place parchment paper in a large baking pan and set it aside (you'll need it to spread the puppy chow on to cool).
- Put Chex cereal in a big mixing bowl.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Heat in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring each time, until it’s smooth and melted. Then, add the vanilla extract and mix.
- Pour the melted chocolate mix over the Chex cereal and gently stir it with a spatula until it’s well coated.
- In a Ziploc bag, put powdered sugar along with the chocolate-covered Chex cereal. Seal the bag and shake it until the cereal is evenly coated with the sugar.
- Spread the coated cereal on the prepared baking sheet and let it cool.
- Before serving, mix in the mini peanut butter cups, Reese's pieces, and mellowcreme pumpkins with the puppy chow. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- Change the add-ins to make these work for different holidays. Red and green M&M’s for Christmas, etc.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I am making a double batch for Thanksgiving and some to take to a function next week to put on tables. I will tell you what though, you would think that you could find those unwrapped Reese’s cups anywhere, right? The grocery store had every variety BUT the minis. Finally got some at the Dollar General, lol. Also none of the mellocream pumpkins but, I found candy corn at the Dollar store too. Git ‘er done!
Ha! Git er done Donna! The ole DG comes through for us again! Hope the gang loves it!! Happy Thanksgiving!
I literally ran to the store when I saw this! I made it tonight for Halloween and bought the Halloween colored M&M’s and bought the pumpkins like you showed. That bowl was empty in about 20 minutes – ha! Such a fun and cute idea and who doesn’t love Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies or whatever folks want to call it LOL