Christmas Puppy Chow

Sharing is caring!

Christmas Puppy Chow is an absolute MUST HAVE this holiday season!

This stuff is so easy to make and so delicious…it’s absolutely addictive.

All you need is your favorite muddy buddy recipe, add some extra powdered sugar (for that snowy effect), jazzed up holiday pretzels, and a sprinkle of M&Ms and peanut butter cups! 

In under an hour you can have a big bowl of holiday magic that tastes even better than it looks! Perfect for serving at a party, binging Hallmark Christmas movies, or decorating the tree.

Whether you’re calling this holiday mix muddy buddies or puppy chow, we can all agree it’s delicious!

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. READ MY DISCLOSURE POLICY HERE.

How To Make Christmas Puppy Chow

Makes 20 servings

Puppy Chow recipe adapted from “Gluten Free Chex Muddy Buddies“

Ingredients

• 8 cups of Chex cereal–I used chocolate chex
• 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup of smooth peanut butter
• ¼ cup of unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 2 cups of holiday shaped pretzels or mini pretzel twists
• 1 cup of white melting wafers or white chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons of Christmas colored sprinkles
• 1 cup of mini Reese’s peanut butter cups (the unwrapped variety)
• 1 cup of holiday M&M’s, any flavor you’d like

Make the puppy chow (aka muddy buddies):

Measure out the Chex cereal into a large bowl and set it aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on high for about 30 seconds. Give the mix a stir.

Continue to microwave and stir in 15 second intervals until the mixture is melted and smooth. 

You can also melt these ingredients by placing them in a heat safe bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.

Once the chocolate peanut butter mixture is melted, stir in the vanilla.

Pour chocolate over the Chex cereal and gently toss until thoroughly coated.

Transfer the chocolate-covered cereal to a large bowl, a 2 gallon freezer bag, or a stockpot, and add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. If using a bowl or pot, make sure to put a lid on it!

Shake the mixture until the cereal is completely coated in powdered sugar.

Pour the puppy chow onto a sheet pan and pop in the fridge to chill until firm, about 10 minutes.

Making the festive pretzels

While the muddy buddies are firming up, melt the vanilla candy wafers by placing them in a microwave-safe bowl and microwaving on high for 30 seconds. Give the melts a stir and continue to microwave and stir in 15-second intervals until the mixture is smooth.

You can also melt the wafers by placing them in a heat-safe bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.

Spread out your pretzels in a single layer on parchment paper or on a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet. 

Using a spoon or a piping bag, drizzle the melted vanilla coating over the top of the pretzels, zig zagging back and forth. The candy will set pretty quickly, so drizzle the pretzels in batches.

Quickly add the Christmas sprinkles to the pretzels before the candy coating sets. 

Repeat this process until all the pretzels have been drizzled and dotted with Christmas sprinkles.

Move the pretzels aside to set. It should only take 5 minutes or so. You can pop them in the fridge for a speedier set.

Finishing up the Christmas Puppy Chow

Now that the Chex mixture has firmed up a bit, transfer your puppy chow back to a large bowl or a 2-gallon bag. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and shake until the mixture is snow white.

I like to then transfer the puppy chow to a clean sheet pan or baking dish. Sprinkle on the M&Ms and the mini peanut butter cups. Make sure to distribute the candy evenly.

Add the pretzels on top of the mix.

At this point, you can serve the puppy chow straight out of the baking dish, spoon it into a serving bowl, or distribute it into cute Christmas tins to give to loved ones!

Storing Your Christmas Puppy Chow

Fully prepared, your Christmas snack mix will stay fresh well over a week, as long as it’s stored in an airtight container. But let’s be real, it’ll be devoured in a day.

The holiday pretzels can be prepped a few days in advance as well. Just store at room temperature in an air tight container and simply add to the mix when you’re ready to serve.

What Chex Cereal should I use?

Any variety you like! I used the chocolate flavored Chex for this recipe because I wanted it extra decadent. But you can use rice, corn, or wheat–or even a mixture.

What’s the difference between Puppy Chow and Muddy Buddies?

Nothing!

They’re the same thing. Other names for this snack mix include Reindeer Chow, Monkey Munch, and Muddy Munch.

Purina (the dog food company!) actually used to make Chex, and jokingly named the cereal “human chow” and then it got changed to puppy chow eventually. After General Mills took over, the beloved snack mix was remarketed as “Muddy Buddies”.

Info sourced from thekitchn.com.

Variations

What I love most about this Christmas puppy chow is that there is so much room for creativity! This recipe is meant to be super festive, so have fun with it! Here are just a few suggestions to make your holiday snack mix extra merry and bright:

• Use white chocolate on the Chex cereal instead of semisweet chocolate.
• You can use colored candy melts instead of the chocolate chips to make red and green puppy chow. Skip tossing the cereal in the last 3/4 cup of powdered sugar if you choose this route.
• To make muddy buddies without peanut butter, omit the peanut butter entirely and just melt more chocolate chips, I’d say at least 1/2 cup extra. Omit the peanut butter cups too.
• Swap the peanut butter cups for Rolos instead.
• Swap the M&Ms for another fun candy like Reese’s Pieces.
• Definitely add some mini marshmallows to the mix and if you do that, add pieces of chocolate covered graham crackers for a s’mores situation.
• Use dark or milk chocolate covered pretzels or even peppermint fudge pretzels!

Other Recipes You Might Like

White Trash Recipe (Christmas Trash)

Peanut Butter Red Nosed Reindeers

Christmas Rice Krispie Treats

Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers

Chocolate Covered Popcorn

Sharing is caring!