This Puppy chow recipe without peanut butter is one of the great recipes you can include for your holiday parties. I love it because it an easy no-bake dessert that I can prepare in less than 10 minutes.
Puppy chow or Muddy Buddies must have gotten its name from its resemblance to puppy food!
This is a fun, exciting holiday treat recipe that will stand on any snack buffet because of its taste, appearance, and even the name! It's a perfect snack and a great addition to your recipes for the holiday season. Let's dive in and discover how to make it.
Why this recipe works
This classic recipe is an excellent sweet dessert treats that your family will love since it uses simple ingredients. You can also use it for movie night to replace the popcorn.
It omits a common ingredient used in making puppy chow or muddy buddies- the peanut butter. This is the best puppy chow recipe if you have a peanut allergy, making it a sweet treat for people with nut allergies.
The Ingredients
Chex Cereal
Made by General mills, this airy and crunchy cereal is a popular breakfast cereal in many households. The rice chex cereal is mainly soaked in milk for toddlers to enjoy. These cereal squares can be found in any grocery store.
I rarely have them as breakfast cereal; I prefer 'cooking from scratch' oats porridge. Making this muddy buddy recipe is a great way of using up this cereal.
Chocolate Chips
The chocolate chips bring the chocolatey flavor and create a sticky surface for the powdered sugar. Chocolate is loved in my household. If you want a less sugary option, you can go for the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Salted Butter
Butter introduces a rich fermented milky flavor in the recipe, providing moisture too. The salt contained in the butter makes the other flavors pop out once the Puppy Chows land on your taste buds.
Vanilla Extract
Vanilla is my all-time flavoring favorite in baking! Vanilla blends well with the chocolate and enhances the aroma of the puppy chow… oh doesn't smell like dog food after all!
Powdered Sugar
This is the last ingredient that is used for coating the puppy chows. It is powdery and sweet, therefore loved by sweet tooths. I attribute all the sugar rush I see in my house to this ingredient whenever we make Puppy Chow.
Christmas Puppy Chow [Easy Muddy Buddies Recipe]. Click on to read.
The Equipment
Saucepan
A heavy-based pan is ideal for melting the butter and chocolate chips over low heat.
Spatula
This tool will be very useful as you stir and scrape off the delicious chocolate from the saucepan, as well as mixing the melted goodness with the cereal.
Freezer bag
This item is essential in the coating of chocolate-coated cereal with a layer of powdered sugar. Little mess, few dishes!
Mixing bowl
A round mixing bowl is suitable as you coat the cereal with melted chocolate and butter.
Substitution
Chex Cereal
The tight schedule would not allow us to shop extensively for the Chex Cereal. We found a local cereal made of oats shaped like the Chex Cereal in one of the food stores.
Chocolate Chips
I will personally not substitute this ingredient lol ..but you could use peanut butter or any nut butter and omit the chocolate.
Butter
This ingredient can be substituted with coconut oil, peanut oil, or avocado oil.
Powdered Sugar/ Confectioners' sugar
The confectioners' sugar can be substituted by caster sugar or stevia (though pricier, it's healthier!) You can sprinkle the stevia powder on the puppy chow which happens to be much sweetener than powdered sugar.
How to make this recipe
This is a simple and easy recipe that an eight-year-old can do. The steps involve melting the butter, and chocolate chips in a saucepan as you stir continuously with moderate speed. The melting should be done over low heat to prevent the chocolate from burning.
Once the chocolate and butter have melted, carefully pour the mixture into the cereal bowl. Mix the cereals with melted chocolate butter sauce until all the cereals are coated. Transfer the coated cereals into a zip-lock bag containing powdered or icing sugar.
Zip the bag and gently toss the cereals to coat them with powdered sugar. Once the cereals are evenly coated, open the bag and spread them onto a tray lined with a baking sheet. Spread into a single layer, and set the tray in a place with free airflow.
There you go! Move the puppy chow into a snack serving bowl.
Chayote Substitutes. Click to Read.
Recipe Card
Puppy chow recipe without peanut butter [Tasty Muddy Buddies]
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Spatula
- Freezer bag
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Chex Cereals
- 8 tablespoons Butter
- ½ cup Chocolate chips
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Measure out the ingredients and set them aside in a bowl
- Over low heat in a heavy-based saucepan, melt butter, then add ½ a cup of chocolate chips.
- With a spatula, stir continuously until all the chocolate chips have melted and formed a chocolate mixture, and add in the vanilla extract at this point.
- Gently pour the mixture on the Chex cereal in the mixing bowl. 5. Mix the melted butter and chocolate with a spatula until all the cereal mixture is coated.
- Put the powdered sugar into the ziplock bag, and add the chocolate-coated Chex cereal.
- Zip the bag and gently toss it coating the cereals with the powdered sugar.
- Move the contents into a tray lined with a baking sheet, and allow them to dry at room temperature for around 10 to 15 minutes.
- Once they have dried up, you can serve or store them in an airtight container for freshness.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking back at the consumption patterns every time I have made the snack, there is hardly anything to freeze. But just in case you have some left, the puppy chows can freeze in a ziplock bag. Once you put the chows in the zip lock bag remove the air bubbles from the bag, then freeze them.
Oh this is what happened the first time my eight old daughter tried making the snack at home. In an eagerness to complete, she skipped the drying step! It is important to spread the mixture onto a tray and let them dry for 10 to 15 minutes in a place where air flows freely. When the puppy chow is put in an airtight container before the chocolate dries up, the moisture from the butter and chocolate will definitely make the muddy buddies or puppy chows soggy. Crunchiness is the last quality you would want to lose on this delicious snack.
The Puppy Chows or Muddy Buddies will store for a long time in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This is the best way to store these dog chow lookalike treats, especially if you've made a big batch of puppy chow.
Freezing this original puppy chow recipe is critical if your kitchen is located in a hot, humid area. When stored like this, freshness will be guaranteed for about two weeks. You can also do this for the snickerdoodle puppy chow
This is an important question in our household. After a doctor's assessment and recommendation, gradual removal of gluten-containing foods from the kitchen had to be carried out. Puppy chow are gluten-free! Gluten-free snacks are rare to find, especially at parties, this recipe saves the day.
Also, Read on: Lotus Biscoff Cake Recipe
Expert Tips
To maintain the crunchiness, it’s important to let the puppy chow dry. Toss the puppy chow onto a tray lined with a baking sheet and spread the mixture to form a single layer. This step will prevent the chow from becoming soggy.
To avoid a mess on the kitchen counter, line up a bowl with reusable or a plastic bag before adding the powdered sugar. Using a bowl to support the freezer bag will ensure the chocolate-coated mixture does not flop onto the counter as you fill the bag.
Enjoy your delicious treat.
