How to Make Puppy Chow – Puppy Chow is a simple and easy snack full of crunchy Chex cereal and packed with extra chocolate and peanut butter flavor! Also know as muddy buddies, this 4-ingredient homemade poppy chow recipe will make your childhood dreams come true!
It only takes a couple of minutes to make puppy chow snack, and it’s the perfect treat for appetizer or dessert too.
WHAT IS PUPPY CHOW? Puppy chow and chex mix have been my favorite snacks since a child. This snack is called puppy chow because of its resemblance to dog food. Please note this puppy chow recipe is not safe for dogs!
Puppy chow is a sweet snack covered chocolate and peanut butter mixture. Besides the name of puppy chow and muddy buddies, it also goes with the name monkey munch, reindeer chow and muddy munch!
HOW TO MAKE PUPPY CHOW
An easy and delicious snack is just minutes away! With only 4 ingredients, this puppy chow recipe will be ready in under 10 minutes! Great for afterschool snacks and parties!
PUPPY CHOW INGREDEINTS:
The original recipe has just a few simple ingredients and really easy to make. The secret to best puppy chow recipe is to get the ratio right! The basis for this recipe includes the following ingredients:
- Chex Cereal: The photos you see in this post are rice chex cereal. I like it better than corn flavor. Other options include Crispix and Purina cereal. Please note that they will look a little different than Chex cereal.
- Chocolate: I prefer semi-sweet high-quality chocolate chips. You can also choose dark chocolate or milk chocolate depending on your personal taste.
- Peanut Butter: I recommend using the regular creamy peanut butter for easier coating. Natural peanut butter doesn’t work well for this recipe.
- Powdered Sugar (Icing Sugar): The coated chex cereal will be mixed with powered sugar which gives it extra sweetness and the beautiful snowy white look!
Other optional ingredients include vanilla extract, butter and salt which can be added for additional flavor if you prefer!
CEREAL TO COATING RATIO
It’s important to make enough coating for your puppy chow chex. About 4:1 ratio between cereal and chocolate/peanut butter mixture is ideal. This means for each cup of cereal, you will need about 1/4 cup of the mixture. That’s much more than the instruction on the package of Chex calls for! It’s important not to use too much cereal as this will lead to uneven coating and ruin the recipe.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST PUPPY CHOW RECIPE
- Use a large bowl which can easily fit all the ingredients in.
- Add your chocolate and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high uncovered for 1 minute. And microwave at 30-second intervals. Stir in between until the mixture is smooth. Don’t over-heat!
- To ensure your chex cereal get coated properly and evenly, mix in two batches. Start with half of your cereal in the bottom of your bowl, pour half of the mixture on top. Mix gently with a spatula. Then repeat.
- Let your coated puppy chow cool down to the room temperature BEFORE adding powdered sugar: adding the sugar while it’s still warm will make your puppy chow soak up more confectionary sugar, causing uneven coating/sugar chunks and making a big mess. But don’t wait for too long, otherwise it will be too hard to be coated properly.
- Shake it in a zip-loc bag: add your coated Chex and powdered sugar in a zip-loc bag. Shake until all cereal is well coated!
PUPPY CHOW RECIPE VARIATIONS:
This is a versatile recipe and you you can twist it slightly for different occasions. Place them into jars with some ribbon and they will become perfect gifts for Christmas, Halloween and birthdays! Here are some fun ideas:
- You can swap semi-sweet chocolate for white chocolate, Nutella or cake batter, making it into fun birthday cake puppy chow.
- Add ingredients such as crushed peppermint, cake mix, funfetti or lemon sprinkles etc., to the powdered sugar .
- Puppy Chow Snack Mix: Add other snacks and sprinkles for a fun snack mix!
You can also make it gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan with the right types of chocolate!
Puppy chow can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for about 10 days.
Puppy Chow Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1-2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
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Add your chocolate and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high uncovered for 1 minute. And microwave at 30-second intervals. Stir in between until the mixture is smooth.
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Place half of your chex in a large bowl. Add about half of the chocolate/peanut butter mixture.
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Mix gently with a spatula. Repeat with the second batch.
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Let your coated Chex cereal cool down. Add them to a zip-loc bag.
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Add in powdered sugar, and shake until all cereal is well coated!
More Quick and Easy Dessert Recipe Ideas:
- No Bake Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites
- Oreo Cheesecake Bites
- Mango Panna Cotta
- Deep Fried Cheesecake
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