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I put Halloween puppy chow out at every party, and it’s the first thing to go. Sweet, chocolatey, peanut buttery and a little salty, with a powdered sugar coating that melts on your tongue. People say they’ll have just a little bit, and then they keep going back and going back.

puppy chow with Halloween candy in a black bowl

Halloween puppy chow was one my kids could make with me when they were little. We’re a big candy corn family, so candy corn always went in, and so did the candy eyes, because those kind of made it.

A lot of puppy chow ends up sticky and clumpy, because the powdered sugar goes on too soon. I don’t rush that step, and mine comes out evenly coated and crisp.

If you want a baked snack mix for October, my Halloween Chex Mix goes in the oven. After Halloween, my Christmas puppy chow is the same kind of snack with red and green M&M’s.

HALLOWEEN FAVORITE

Why I Make a Double Batch the Day Before My Party

When I’m hosting a Halloween party, I usually make a double batch of puppy chow the day before. That gives the chocolate and peanut butter coating plenty of time to set, and the cereal stays nice and crisp. You can even make it 2 to 3 days ahead, and it will still be pretty fresh and crunchy.

Then on party day, it all goes into a big Halloween bowl and a couple of little ones around the room, and I’m constantly refilling them.

Halloween Muddy Buddies, Monkey Munch or Puppy Chow

I call this snack puppy chow, but a lot of people know it as muddy buddies or monkey munch. Since it starts with Chex, you’ll also see it called Halloween puppy chow Chex mix. It’s the Halloween version of my classic Chex puppy chow.

People go a little crazy over the name. It looks a lot like dog food, and Chex was first made by Ralston Purina, the company behind Purina dog food.

Even with the name, this is not for dogs. It has chocolate in it, and chocolate is toxic to dogs.

Key Ingredients

Chex cereal: I use Rice Chex, but Corn Chex and Crispix are interchangeable here. Rice Chex is a little salty, so the finished mix comes out a little sweet and a little salty.
Butter: I use unsalted, because the peanut butter and the peanut butter cups already have salt in them. If salted is what you have, it doesn’t really matter.
Candy eyes: These are the one thing I never leave out. You can buy candy eyes on Amazon, Target and Michaels usually have them, and around Halloween you can find them pretty much anywhere, even the grocery store.

See the recipe card for full ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Halloween Puppy Chow

Step 1: Melt the Coating Add the Chex to a large bowl. Microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter together in a small microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute and stir until completely melted. Bowl of melted chocolate with a blue spatula, next to Halloween candies and cereal ready for Halloween puppy chow.

Step 2: Coat the Cereal Pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex and stir until every piece is coated. Chex cereal coated in melted chocolate in a blue bowl, with Halloween candy mix-ins on a cutting board.

Step 3: Shake It in Powdered Sugar Add the powdered sugar to a large resealable bag, add the coated cereal, seal it, and toss until everything is completely coated. Chocolate-coated cereal being tossed with powdered sugar in a zip-top bag.

Step 4: Let It Rest, Then Add the Candy Pour the coated cereal into a large bowl and stir in the peanut butter cups, orange and black candy, candy eyes, and candy corn. Store in an airtight container. Halloween puppy chow in a blue bowl topped with candy eyeballs, candy corn, mini peanut butter cups, and chocolate candies.

Throw In Whatever Halloween Candy You Love

The best part of this Halloween puppy chow is that you can throw in pretty much any candy you like. Sometimes I use regular candy corn, and sometimes I use the mix with the little candy pumpkins in it.

For the orange and black, I used Halloween M&M’s here, and Reese’s Pieces work too. I also love adding pretzels, because they bump up the salt and make it even more sweet and salty.

How Much It Makes and How to Store It

This Halloween puppy chow recipe makes 7 to 8 cups. Once it’s completely cooled, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

If you’re planning a Halloween party, my roundup of easy Halloween treats for kids has more ideas for the table.

More Halloween Treats

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