A sweet and savory snack that can be whipped up in advanced and enjoyed all Christmas week – holiday puppy chow with Chex cereal!
Puppy chow, or sometimes called Muddy Buddies, definitely brings me back to my childhood. I had friends in grade school whose mom’s would whip up a batch and bag them up for us to enjoy at snack time or recess. And all these years later, I still love the sweet and salty combo!
With Christmas week upon us, chances are you’ve got a million and one things to do, but this is one of those quick and easy sweet treats that doesn’t take too much time to prepare. Check out my holiday puppy chow recipe with Chex mix below.
Puppy Chow Recipe with Chex
There’s a strong possibility you might already have a handful of the ingredients for this puppy chow recipe on hand. Make it ahead for snacking later during the holiday week.
Plus, this recipe is a fun way to involve the kiddos without making too big of a mess!
Chances are you remember how this recipe is made, with powdered sugar, peanut butter and chocolate. Delicious, but also ultra sugary! I opted to create a bit of a healthier take on the classic puppy chow by swapping out a few ingredients for a healthier alternative or two.
Coconut sugar is one of my favorite recipe swaps, because it’s still sweet and, in my opinion, doesn’t compromise the taste we’re used to. Here’s another recipe with coconut sugar: my ginger molasses cookies.
I also made a batch with M&Ms and a batch without. the M&Ms add some holiday cheer, whereas the batch without can be had all year around.
Store in an air-tight container or keep the puppy chow mix on the counter in a bowl, like this Juliska oval dish.
Puppy Chow with Chex
Ingredients
- 3½ cups Chex rice cereal
- 3½ cups Chex wheat cereal
- ½ cup Coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup Powdered sugar
- 1 cup Dark chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup Peanut butter or Almond butter
- 1 tbsp Coconut oil
- pinch Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cup M&Ms (optional)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together Coconut sugar, powdered sugar and salt. Set aside.
- Create a double broiler (a glass bowl set on top of a pot of simmering water) and melt chocolate, peanut/almond butter, coconut oil and vanilla (optional) together, over medium heat. Stir occasionally until smooth.
- In a large bowl, add cereals and toss. Drizzle melted chocolate mixture over cereal and stir or toss until evenly coated. OR in a large zip-loc bag, add cereal and melted mixture, seal and shake until coated.
- Add half sugar mixture to cereal/melted chocolate mixture and toss to coat. Add other half of mixture and repeat.
- Spread on to waxed paper for complete cooling.
- OPTIONAL: Mix in M&Ms
