Christmas Puppy Chow (aka muddy buddies) is a munchable, crunchable, sweet, and salty snack mix. Perfect for holiday parties or DIY Christmas gifts because it’s filled with Christmas colors and plenty of candy.
Christmas Chex Mix
Our quick and easy no-bake Christmas Puppy Chow recipe takes 10 minutes to make by coating Chex cereal with a melted chocolate peanut butter mixture, tossing it in powdered sugar, and adding any kind of candy, snack food, or holiday treats.
Wondering what this crazy concoction is? Simply put, it’s holiday puppy chow for people (not puppies), with the same crunchy texture as my Halloween Puppy Chow Chex Mix, Hot Chocolate Muddy Buddies, Pumpkin Spice Snack Mix, and Halloween Harvest Chex Mix, but revised as a puppy chow recipe for Christmas.
Making Christmas muddy buddies turns a traditional Chex mix into a dangerously delicious muddy buddy recipe with a winter holiday makeover!
Why We Love Christmas Puppy Chow
- Quick and easy to make in 10 minutes.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Addictive Christmas crack Chex mix makes it hard to resist the next handful.
- A Christmas snack mix can be customized with your favorite sweet and savory foods. Don’t care for peanut butter cups? Use other candy. Craving more chocolate? Mix it in!
- Fun activity to create with kids and let them toss in their favorite treats.
- Perfect for Christmas parties, holiday celebrations, gift-giving, and great alternative to cookies and cakes.
Christmas Puppy Chow Ingredients
- Rice Chex cereal
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Creamy peanut butter
- Unsalted butter
- Confectioners sugar
- Mini pretzels
- Red and green M&M’s
- Mini marshmallows
- Mini Reese’s peanut butter cups
- Sprinkles (optional)
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Change The Chex: For this recipe, I use Rice Chex, but you can use Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, Chocolate Chex, mixed Chex, or even Crispix cereal in your mix.
- Choose Your Chocolate: I used semi sweet chocolate in this recipe, but milk chocolate chips or white chocolate chips will also work.
- Customize Your Crunch: If you make these Muddy Buddies for the holidays, toss in some colored M&M’s, holiday sprinkles, or crushed peppermint for an extra festive touch. Feel free to stir in Reese’s Pieces, crushed candy, cookie pieces, or chopped nuts for extra crunch.
- Go Gluten-Free: You can easily make this recipe gluten-free. Make sure you do not use Wheat Chex in your puppy chow snack mix, use gluten-free pretzels, and check the labels on your other mix-ins.
How to Make Christmas Puppy Chow
- Melt: Microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in 15-second intervals until smooth, stirring between intervals (Image 1). Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal (Image 2) and stir to coat. (Image 3)
- Shake In Powdered Sugar: Toss the chocolate-coated cereal in powdered sugar until completely covered. (Image 4)
Pro Tip: You can use a bowl with a lid or a large storage bag for this step. - Stir In Snacks: Transfer to a new bowl and add sweet and salty snacks (Images 5 and 6). Enjoy!
Tips For Making Christmas Puppy Chow
- The chocolate-peanut butter ratio can be adjusted as preferred.
- I like to make the puppy chow base separately, but you can also toss the candies in the chocolate and powdered sugar. I personally like to see the various colors and textures, so I add them in at the end.
- Larger sprinkles work best for this recipe; smaller ones will drop to the bottom.
- I like to use the extra tiny pretzels for this recipe as they are similar in size to the Chex and other ingredients and are extra fun in the mix!
- This puppy chow does not need to be refrigerated, although if you like your snack cold, feel free to keep it in the fridge.
- Processed peanut butter, like Jiff or Skippy, works best in this recipe. All-natural nut butters may not set well at room temperature. If you have a peanut allergy, sunflower seed butter should work, too.
- I sometimes spread the coated cereal on a cookie sheet and allow the chocolate to cool and set up for 15-30 minutes. This step isn’t required, but I find it helps keep the cereal from sticking together.
How to Store Christmas Puppy Chow
- To Store: This recipe stores well in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The fresher the better!
- To Freeze: You cannot freeze your puppy chow.
More Christmas Treat Recipes
Other Easy Holiday Desserts
If you tried this Christmas Puppy Chow Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
Christmas Puppy Chow
Serves — 10
Christmas Puppy Chow is filled with Chex cereal, peanut butter, and chocolate chips, Christmas candy and coated in powdered sugar
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 cups rice chex mix cereal
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1½- 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.8 cups rice chex mix cereal
- In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in 15 second intervals until smooth. Stir between each interval.1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, ½ cup creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 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.1½- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- Transfer to a new bowl and add in the pretzels, M&Ms, Reese’s, marshmallows and sprinkles and toss until well mixed.1 cup mini pretzels, 1 cup red and green M&M’s, 1 cup mini marshmallows, 1 cup mini Reese’s
Jenn’s Notes
Serving Size: 6-8 people
Yield: 10 cups of mix
Storage:
- To Store: This recipe stores well in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Obviously the fresher the better!
- To Freeze: You cannot freeze your puppy chow.
- The chocolate peanut butter ratio can be adjusted as preferred.
- I like to make the actual puppy chow base separately but you can also toss the candies in the chocolate and powdered sugar if you prefer. I personally like to see the various colors and textures so I add them in at the end.
- Larger sprinkles work best for this recipe; smaller ones will just drop to the bottom.
- I like to use the extra tiny pretzels for this recipe as they are similar size as the Chex and other ingredients and are extra fun in the mix!
- This puppy chow does not need to be refrigerated, although if you like your snack cold, feel free to keep it in the fridge.
- Processed peanut butter, like Jiff or Skippy, works best in this recipe. All-natural nut butters may not set well at room temperature. If you have a peanut allergy, sunflower seed butter should work too.
- I sometimes spread the coated cereal on a cookie sheet and allow the chocolate to cool and set up for 15-30 minutes. This step isn’t required, but I find it helps keep the cereal from sticking together.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 742kcal | Carbohydrates: 113g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 451mg | Potassium: 332mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 80g | Vitamin A: 541IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 10mg
how do you make fun funding chow. It’s so good