Puppy Chow — also called Muddy Buddies — is a Midwestern treat that became a staple of holiday tins and potluck dessert tables starting in the 1980s. Crispy Chex-style cereal gets coated in a melted mixture of butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips, then shaken in a bag with powdered sugar until every piece is dusted white. The result is crunchy, sweet, peanut-buttery, and chocolatey all at once, and it disappears faster than almost anything else on the table. Mary April’s version uses Crispix and does the whole thing in one pot and one bag.
Ingredients
1 box Crispix cereal
1 c (2 sticks) butter
1 c peanut butter
1 (12 oz.) bag chocolate chips
3 c powdered sugar
Instructions
Pour the Crispix cereal into a very large bowl and set aside.
In a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, melt together the butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips, stirring until completely smooth.
Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and stir gently until every piece is evenly coated.
Put 3 cups of powdered sugar into a large brown paper bag or a gallon zip-lock bag.
Add the coated cereal to the bag.
Seal the bag and shake well until all the cereal is coated in powdered sugar.
Spread onto a baking sheet or waxed paper to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Brown bag trick: A large paper grocery bag works perfectly for the powdered sugar shake — it’s big enough to toss everything without making a mess. A gallon zip-lock bag works too.
Also called: Muddy Buddies — the name Chex uses on the box recipe, which became popular around the same time.
