Peppermint Muddy Buddies
4-Ingredient Peppermint Muddy Buddy Recipe: How to Make Puppy Chow for the holidays! These Gluten-Free Muddy Buddies make great edible gifts!
4-Ingredient Peppermint Muddy Buddy Recipe
Muddy Buddies… Have you heard of them?
It’s a sweet holiday treat that is also called Puppy Chow, Muddy Munch, or even Reindeer Munch.
The most classic form of this homemade candy is a combination of cereal, chocolate or almond bark, peanut butter, and powdered sugar.
However, muddy buddies can be made in many different flavors!
Today I’m sharing one of my personal favorites, a Peppermint Muddy Buddy Recipe for Christmas!
Peppermint Puppy Chow Recipe
Our peppermint Muddy Buddy (Puppy Chow) Recipe is loaded with festive flavor, yet only requires 4 ingredients.
What else do we love about it?
- It takes less than 10 minutes to make
- Can be stored for several weeks
- Makes a fabulous party treat or edible gift
- Is easy for kids to make
- And tastes like Christmas!
My children love to whip up a batch of Peppermint Puppy Chow when they have friends coming over to watch holiday movies, or get invited to an impromptu sleepover.
Peppermint Muddy Buddies Recipe Ingredients
Want to make your own quickie batch of peppermint muddy buddies? All you need is.
- White Almond Bark – This is an inexpensive form of melting candy, similar to white chocolate. It can be found in the baking section of most grocery chains.
- Crispix Cereal – I like to use Crispix because of its hexagon shape. However, you can also use Rice Chex if you need a fully gluten-free option.
- Red Band Peppermint Sticks – Red Bands are a powdered peppermint stick candy that is softer and more crumbly than candy canes. Therefore, they make a much better coating than crushed candy canes. I found them in the candy aisle of our local market.
- Powdered Sugar – To make sure all the pieces are well coated so they dry out.
These are great pantry items to stockpile through the holidays, so you have them when you need them!
How To Make Muddy Buddies (Puppy Chow)
- Crush. Place the Red Bands in the blender and pulse to break them into fine peppermint dust.
- Melt. Microwave the almond bark until it is fully melted and smooth.
- Stir. Pour the cereal into the almond bark and stir to coat.
- Shake. Then pour the coated cereal into the peppermint dust and shake to coat. You may need to add powdered sugar as well to fully coat the cereal.
Get The Full (Printable) Peppermint Muddy Buddies Recipe Below
Peppermint Muddy Buddy Adaptations
Want to mix things up a little? Here are some ideas…
Chocolate Peppermint Puppy Chow
Simply swap the white almond bark for chocolate almond bark.
Mocha Peppermint Muddy Buddy Recipe
Swap 1/2 cup of instant mocha powder for part (or all) of the powdered sugar.
Gluten-Free Peppermint Muddy Buddies
Although Crispix are a type of rice cereal, they are not considered gluten-free because they contain malt barley.
If you want to make a gluten-free verison, use a Rice Chex or another waffle-style cereal marked as gluten-free.
Peppermint Puppy Chow Clusters
Omit the powdered sugar, so the cereal pieces stick together in clumps. Then once the clumps have dried drizzle melted chocolate over the top.
More Festive Holiday Treats & Homemade Gifts
- Chai Puppy Chow Recipe
- Chocolate Toffee Christmas Crack Munch
- Snowball Party Mix
- Homemade Bourbon Vanilla Extract
- Bourbon Candied Bacon Bites
- Bacon Pecan Brittle
- 3-Ingredient Cracker Jack Fudge
- Mexican Burnt Milk Candy
- Homemade Caramels
Peppermint Muddy Buddy Recipe
Ingredients
- 20 ounces white almond bark (or white baking chocolate)
- 12 ounces Crispix Rice Cereal (or Rice Chex)
- 12 ounces Red Band peppermint sticks
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Set out a large microwave-safe mixing bowl and a large paper grocery bag.
- Place the Red Band peppermint sticks in the blender (or food processor) and pulse to break them into a fine powder. You can also do this by placing them in a freezer bag and pounding them with a meat mallet. (I left some of the piece large for the sake of the photos, but they stick to the cereal best when ground very fine.) Pour the peppermint dust into the grocery bag.
- Break the almond bark into pieces and place the pieces in the bowl. Microwave in one-minute increments, stirring in between, until the almond bark is fully melted and smooth. This usually take about 3 minutes on high power.
- Gently stir the cereal into the melted almond bark, making sure to coat the pieces on all sides. Try not to crush the cereal.
- Once the cereal is coated in almond bark, quickly pour the cereal into the grocery bag. Fold the top down a couple of times to seal in the peppermint dust and shake vigorously to coat the cereal.
- Open the bag and add 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Fold and shake vigorously again. Check the muddy buddies. If they seem to need more powdered sugar to be fully coated, add another 1/2 cup and shake again.
- Pour the peppermint muddy buddies out on wax paper and allow them to dry and firm up. Then move to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to three weeks.
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This is seriously addicting! It’s best to make this when you have lots of people to eat it otherwise you’ll easily eat the whole thing yourself, haha! Love it!
So easy and delicious! I love how easy this is. Perfect for Christmas, but I could easily switch out the peppermint sticks for other flavors of hard candy for other times of the year (like butterscotch!!). Great for parties!
Duch a fantastic treat. Perfect for the holiday season or any time of the year. Thanks for sharing! :)
Soooo good! Just enough peppermint for a sweet snack.Â