If you're looking for an easy snack to put out for parties or gatherings this holiday season, this Christmas Muddy Buddies recipe is it! It requires very little prep and brings together a salty sweet snack that's perfect for all types of occasions.
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I love to make a batch of this holiday snack mix each year! Giving it out to friends of all ages, family members, and school teachers makes a great gift! You can even take it along to parties as a gift for the host or hostess!
Christmas puppy chow also makes a special treat for our family to enjoy while watching our favorite Christmas movies or to leave out some for Santa. He must get tired of cookies at each stop!
If you're looking for more easy recipes to make this holiday season enjoy this cranberry jalapeno dip or this fun cannoli dip!
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Ingredients to Make Christmas Puppy Chow
Here's a look at the ingredients you need to make this version of Christmas muddy buddies!
- Rice Chex Mix: This is the classic cereal for this Christmas snack mix.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: A nice balanced sweet and bitter chocolate option.
- Peanut butter: This recipe works best with creamy peanut butter so that the mixture for coating the cereal is smooth.
- Butter: The butter adds a bit of richness to the peanut butter and chocolate mixture as well as helping it loosen up when heated and then firm back up once it's cooled. Use unsalted butter for the best flavor.
- Confectioner sugar: Used for coating the cereal after it's mixed with the melted chocolate, peanut butter, and butter mixture. The amount is variable. Add more if you prefer a whiter snack mix.
- Mini pretzels: I like to use the extra tiny pretzels. Their size is closer in size to the Chex cereal and other ingredients so they blend in well.
- M&M’s: Use green and red for holiday colors!
- Mini marshmallows: Definitely use mini marshmallows!
- Mini Reese’s cups: For more peanut buttery goodness.
- Sprinkles: These are totally optional but a great way to make your Christmas muddy buddies more festive. Larger sprinkles work best for making Christmas puppy chow. The smaller ones will just drop to the bottom of your bowl.
See the recipe card at the end of the page for the quantities of each ingredient.
Substitutions and Variations
Missing a certain ingredient or simply want to make some changes to the recipe. Here are some ideas of things that will work to make your version of Christmas muddy buddies a little bit different.
- More Chocolate Flavor: Add extra chips and use slightly less peanut butter.
- More Peanut Butter Flavor: Add more peanut butter until you reach the desired flavor.
- Use a Different Cereal: You can also use other Chex cereals such as corn, wheat, or mixed Chex. You can also use Crispex which is a different brand with a similar shape and texture to the Chex.
- Swap Out the Chocolate Chips: You can use milk chocolate which is slightly sweeter or dark chocolate for a more intense and less sweet chocolate flavor.
- Add Nuts: You can easily add nuts to this Christmas puppy chow mix.
- Use Different Mix-Ins: Swap the marshmallows, pretzels, M&M's, and peanut butter cups for any other candies you'd like to use!
How to Make Holiday Chex Mix
Gather up your ingredients and let's get started making this easy holiday snack mix. Here's a glance at the highlights but the full details are in the recipe card.
- Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a small bowl.
- Microwave them in short intervals being sure to stir after each one. Repeat until the mixture is smooth.
PRO TIP: Be careful when melting the chocolate. Heat in 15-second intervals carefully stirring between each round and giving it about a minute for the heat from the bowl to melt chocolate. The oils from the butter and peanut butter will help keep the chocolate from seizing but it’s still good to keep a close eye on it.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal.
- Stir the chocolate and cereal until the cereal is evenly coated.
- Toss the chocolate-coated cereal in the powdered sugar until all of the chocolate is covered.
PRO TIP: Use a bowl with a lid or a large storage bag for tossing the cereal in the powdered sugar. This is the easiest and least messy way to coat the chocolate-covered cereal with powdered sugar.
- Transfer the sugar-coated mixture to a new bowl and add in the pretzels, M&Ms, Reese’s, marshmallows, and sprinkles.
- Toss them together until all the ingredients are well mixed.
Storage Tips
Christmas Muddy Buddies stores well in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Fresher is better so I recommend making this as close to the serving time when serving it.
This holiday snack mix doesn't stand up well to freezing.
Serving Ideas
Enjoy your holiday muddy buddies all through the month of December. It's perfect to place in bowls for holiday parties or package it up in a tin for a tasty hostess gift.
Pair it with other dessert holiday favorites such as eggnog cookies and chocolate snowball cookies.
It makes a sweet snack mix for parties served with other easy-to-eat appetizers such as bacon Brussels sprouts, hot shrimp dip, and cranberry brie bites.
Expert Tips
- Be careful melting the chocolate mixture. You don't want the chocolate to burn and seize up. The heat of the bowl and the chocolate will help it melt so stirring in between each heating session prevents you from cooking too long.
- Make sure you coat the chocolate-covered cereal in powdered sugar very well. The powdered sugar is the key to less stickiness in your final Christmas puppy chow.
- Make the puppy chow base separately. While it may be a time saver to toss the candies in the chocolate and powdered sugar, it looks better to see the various colors and textures.
- Totally customizable! This Christmas snack mix is easily customizable. You can swap out the cereal, candies, and add other ingredients to create a fun and festive mixture you and your family will enjoy.
FAQs
Yes, it makes a delightful snack any time of year. Swap the holiday-colored sprinkles and M&M's for the regular versions of them! You can even use themed colors of each to make the snack mix for other holidays.
You can use other nut butters such as almond butter or cashew butter and swap out the peanut butter cups for another type of chocolate candy. If you need to make them nut-free the best option is to use cookie butter or sunflower seed butter in place of the peanut butter. Make sure you choose peanut-free candy to add along with the M&M's and marshmallows.
More Holiday Dessert Recipes
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card right below! You can also write a review in the comment section further down the page I always appreciate your feedback. And don’t forget to tag me @freshcoasteats in your photos on social media, I'd love to see your results!
Christmas Muddy Buddies
Equipment
- Serving Scoop
Ingredients
- 8 cups rice chex mix cereal
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ½- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 cup mini pretzels
- 1 cup red and green M&M’s
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 cup mini Reese’s
- Optional: sprinkles
Instructions
- Place the chex mix cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in 15 second intervals until smooth. Stir between each interval.
- Pour chocolate over cereal and stir until evenly coated.
- Toss the chocolate coated cereal in powdered sugar until all of the chocolate is covered. You can use a bowl with a lid or a large storage bag for this step.
- Transfer to a new bowl and add in the pretzels, M&Ms, Reese’s, marshmallows and sprinkles and toss until well mixed.
Notes
- Be careful melting the chocolate mixture. You don't want the chocolate to burn and seize up. The heat of the bowl and the chocolate will help it melt so stirring in between each heating session prevents you from cooking too long.
- Make sure you coat the chocolate-covered cereal in powdered sugar very well. The powdered sugar is the key to less stickiness in your final Christmas puppy chow.
- Make the puppy chow base separately. While it may be a time saver to toss the candies in the chocolate and powdered sugar, it looks better to see the various colors and textures.
- Totally customizable! This Christmas snack mix is easily customizable. You can swap out the cereal, candies, and add other ingredients to create a fun and festive mixture you and your family will enjoy.
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