Puppy chow (a.k.a. muddy buddies) is one of my favorite holiday snacks. But this small batch puppy chow is great when you don't need a ton of servings! With peanut butter, semi-sweet chocolate, and a dusting of powdered sugar, it's absolutely addictive. And all you need is a microwave to make it!
If there's anything I trust a midwesterner with, it's snacks. As a west coast girlie, I'm not an expert, but I did grow up with an Iowa-raised grandma who made the best snacks.
One that I come back to time and again, every single holiday season, is muddy buddies. I don't need to explain why. We have chocolate, we have peanut butter, we have crunchy cereal. Yes, yes, a million times yes.
Like my small batch peppermint chocolate chip cookies or cozy small batch cinnamon rolls, this snack mix is great when you want some holiday vibes without a million servings. I mean, holiday baking is the best, but does anyone else end up throwing a bunch of leftovers away? There's only so much sugar one can take lol.
This puppy chow is even better thanks to some secrets I learned in pastry school. It has more peanut butter, good quality chocolate, and a splash of vanilla for extra flavor and texture. Let's make it!
Creamy peanut butter
Usually, I'm a natural peanut butter girl. But in this case, you'll actually want classic creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy! Use your favorite, any brand you like will work.
Besides the PB, make sure you have rice or corn cereal (like Chex), semi-sweet chocolate chips, unsalted butter, pure vanilla extract, Kosher salt, and powdered sugar. Don't skip the vanilla and salt, they're my secret ingredients!
Make it in the microwave
You want the chocolate mixture to be fairly drizzly. This helps it coat the cereal more easily! Just don't over heat it, or the chocolate will seize and become grainy.
After the muddy buddies are coated, spread them on a sheet pan and let them set for 30-60 minutes. This will keep them from clumping together too much!
When it comes to small-batch baking, I always recommend using a scale to measure the ingredients. If you don't have a scale, here are all my tips on how I measure ingredients for small batch baking.
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The Best Small Batch Puppy Chow
Equipment
- Microwave safe bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Zipper bag or paper bag
Ingredients
- 100 grams corn or rice cereal, like Chex (3 cups)
- 100 grams good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (½ cup)
- 30 grams unsalted butter (2 Tablespoons)
- 65 grams creamy peanut butter (¼ cup)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- 60 grams powdered sugar, more as needed (½ cup)
Instructions
- Line a small sheet pan with parchment paper. Then, place the Chex cereal in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips, unsalted butter, and peanut butter to a heatproof bowl. Microwave the mixture in 30 second increments, stirring between each round, until the chocolate-peanut mixture is completely smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Stir in the vanilla extract and Kosher salt.
- Pour the chocolate-peanut butter mixture over the cereal. Use a rubber spatula to gently toss everything together until the cereal is well-coated. Let it cool for about 5 minutes.
- Then, transfer the cereal to a zipper bag (a paper bag works too). Add half of the powdered sugar, seal the bag, and shake it rapidly until the cereal is coated in the powdered sugar. Add the remaining powdered sugar and shake once more. If the cereal is still sticky, add more powdered sugar as needed. (Honestly, I usually eyeball this part.)
- Spread the cereal on the prepared sheet pan. You can eat it right away, but I like to let it set for 30-60 minutes so it doesn't stick together too much. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think!