Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddies) is the perfect treat for Christmas! White chocolate covered Chex cereal coated with crushed candy canes, could anything be more perfect?
If you’re getting ready to cozy up to a cheesy Hallmark or Netflix movie you need a batch of these Candy Cane Muddy Buddies! They take only 5 minutes to make and are the perfect Christmas snack. So grab these 3 simple ingredients and turn on the Christmas music!
Chocolate Christmas Chex Mix
And if you’re looking for a chocolate peanut butter muddy buddy recipe, my Peanut Butter Brownie Puppy Chow will change your life! Chex Mix recipes are my jam! I love how quick and easy they are to make and shockingly tasty! I even have a reindeer chow recipe if you want more fun ideas for Christmas Chex Mix recipes!
Peppermint Bark Muddy Buddies
What would December be without a White Elephant gift party? There’s always the good gift everyone fights over and then there’s the uhh… not-so-good gift. I remember people giving away ONE glove, a broken remote control, a traffic cone, even a jar of their own toe nails! Gross! But when I was 12 I went to my first White Elephant party and someone gave a box of peppermint bark–That was the gift everyone wanted.
Confession: I tried to make this last year and totally failed. I tried to stir the candy canes into the chocolate before coating the cereal and then tossed it in powdered sugar. It didn’t work and didn’t look half as pretty as this batch. PLUS its not crazy sweet because you don’t need any powdered sugar! You can melt your chocolate on the stove top or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl! Thanks to my recipe testing you have the perfect recipe to make!
3 Ingredient Christmas Treat
Crush you candy canes in a blender! This will the best Christmas baking trick you learn! It’s super fast, no mess and they all get crushed perfectly! If you put them in a ziplock back and then try to crush them with rolling pin the candy canes make holes in the bag and make a huge mess. Again, I learned that the hard way!
10 seconds later…
Love Puppy Chow and Muddy Buddies? I have a million recipes! Okay, not a million but a bunch! Enjoy my Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow!
Store your Muddy Buddies in a ziploc bag or seal in an airtight container. I always mix these in with my Christmas cookies at neighbor gifts.
These recipes are commonly called “Puppy Chow”but it is not dog food. They get that nick name because the original recipes look like kibble!
Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow
This 3 Ingredient Christmas treat will be your new favorite thing! Perfect little bites of peppermint bark!
Ingredients
- 6-7 Cups Rice Chex cereal
- 2 Cups White Melts Or Almond Bark*
- 1 3/4 Cups crushed candy canes about 15 or so
Instructions
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1. Place cereal in a large bowl.
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2. Melt your white melts or almond bark on the stove top over medium-low heat and stir until smooth.
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3. Pour melted goodness over cereal and gently fold until covered.
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4. Dump into a large plastic bag (or large tupperware with a top) and add crushed candy canes. Shake until covered.
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5. Dump onto a cookie sheet to cool and enjoy!
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NOTE: Puppy chow/muddy buddies aren't an exact science, you can always add more chocolate or less cereal depending on your taste!
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IDEA:Serve in cute christmas goody bags to give to neighbors, friends and family!
Recipe Notes
*Use something that is meant to be melted and used for candy, most white chocolate chips don't melt down thin enough.
Remember, make sure to use something that’s meant to be melted! Chocolate chips don’t melt down smooth enough unless you add a tough of oil. In regular puppy chow (muddy buddies) you mix peanut butter with the chocolate chips, and the peanut butter is what helps to thin it out. Peanut butter candy cane just didn’t sound appealing to me…
Oh my goodness, my friends and I are doing a White Elephant tomorrow and I’m a bit nervous to see what they come up with! I’ve decided to gift a bag of walnuts since I know that it’s just going to come back to me (unless my friend keeps it out of spite) so I can bake something with it–I thought I was being clever haha. This puppy chow is perfect for the holidays and I’m glad it worked out well this time around! I love the idea of coating the cereal in crushed up candy canes instead of powdered sugar!
Now I always give a framed picture of myself! It’s always hilarious 🙂
I made this tonight for her GS meeting tomorrow. Did a taste test…yum. I love song rintgone mp3
I pinted the Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow
I’m a big fan of dark chocolate and peppermint. I made two separate batches of peppermint bark — one white, one dark. Once dry, I tossed the two together. Presented in clear cello bags tied with pretty red and white striped ribbon, it makes a lovely (and scrumptious) gift.
Sounds beautiful and delicious!
My 10yo and I made this tonight for her GS meeting tomorrow. Did a taste test…yum!
Oh good! I was a girl scout! I miss the cookies 🙂
Huge hit! Cookie sales start Jan 1… we ship. 😉
Hi darling girl. This looks AMAZING. My favorite things all in one. MISS YOU and see you soon!
I Pinned Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/138204282288729722/
To make chocolate “workable” (keep it soft enough to work with) add melted butter. Easy trick and it doesn’t take away from the taste of the chocolate.
thanks for the tip!
Where do u get the ghirideli melt able chocolate?
Some grocery stores carry it, Wilton makes a brand called “melts” that are found at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and other craft stores! You can also use “almond bark” found at most grocery stores!
Could I use Bakers White Chocolate for this? If so, how many ounces do you think this would take?
Yes, that should be fine! Just chop it up and fit it into a measuring cup to measure 🙂 It doesn’t have to be perfect, that’s what’s great about puppy chow
Are these full size candy cannes or small ones?
Full size!
Yum! I love peppermint bark! I bought some Wilton peppermint candy melts and wondered if I could use those or what changes I’d have to make if I used those. (Or Hershey’s peppermint kisses…are they the same?)
You can use them all!!! 🙂
I love this! I’ve been looking for a good peppermint puppy chow recipe for quite a while. Last year one of my friends gave a few other people and I peppermint puppy chow for Christmas and refused to give me the recipe, this year I’m the one who gave everyone puppy chow. Thank you so much! This is awesome.
I made a large batch of this to add along with Christmas gifts and it is simply addicting! Thank you for sharing the recipe! I will definitely be trying your other puppy chow recipes!
would this make it in OK Valentine gift and can I use starlight mints instead of candy canes
This would be a lovely Valentine’s Day gift! You can use anything candy/mints that can be crushed and still look pretty 🙂
thanks for your reply. My cousin actually made your recipe at Christmas for a hostess gift for my mom. my mom raved about the recipe so I’m going to have my toddler help me make the recipe for a Valentine gift for his grandmas! Thanks so much
How long will the Puppy Chow keep? I would like to make some for my great-granddaughter’s 2nd birthday party in December. Thanks!
It keeps as long as the separate ingredients keep. So for this one just keep it sealed in a ziplock bag and it will last as long as the chocolate!
as long as you can keep your hands out of it, it will keep!! haven’t had the peppermint kind but it sounds amazing!! the chocolate kind is ADDICTING!! My mom made me some a few years ago and asked if I wanted some “dog food”! Dingy ME, I thought she meant the REAL kind and was calling me a dog. She had to explain and SHOW me what she meant!! Boy, am I glad she did!!
What is the weight equivalent when using almond bark?
You know what, I’m not exactly sure but just chop it up and get about 2 cups! It doesn’t have to be exact!
I think this would be a perfect Christmas afternoon snack. Pinned to my
“Christmas Cravings” board.
Just made some of this tonight and OH MY GOD it is so delicious! I think I have found my new go to holiday treat for family and friends. I bought some Christmas tins from Michaels the other day and I just dropped handfuls into plastic bags and placed them into tins for a nice little surprise when everyone opens their packages this December!
Can’t wait to try all of your other puppy chow recipes – I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to make some.
Oh fun! Yes this stuff is so easy and quick to make and delicious! Plus, everyone makes caramel corn and sugar cookies, it’s fun to give away something a little different and special 🙂
Hi, my son and I made this tonight for his class Christmas party. Gotta say, it’s super delicious! The kids are going to love it. Thanks for the twist on the usual puppy chow!
This treat is soon fun!
Your Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow inspired my version, Lizzy! Thanks for sharing!
Oops, I linked back to your recipe instead of mine. 😉
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How many squares of almond bark does it take to get the 2 cups.
About 12 I would say! The amount chocolate on any muddy buddy recipe is always up to you! You can use more if you want it super chocolatey or you can use a little less if you want the cereal to come through more! So you can coat your cereal and if you want a little more chocolate you can melt some more and add it!
Love the different puppy chow recipes.
This stuff is so addictive! In fact I’m munching on it as I write this review!!! Easy to make I did use White Chocolate Chips instead of either barks they suggest. Very Yummy!
Please tell me how you gets yours to look like the picture. It’s yummy but mine is in chunks and looks like a disaster!!! I didn’t think I could mess up a three ingredient recipe. 😆
I love your recipe and it inspired me to try something new! Now I am no good at writing out recipes so feel free to steal this because I have yet to see another recipe that does it this way. I made a batch of your Peppermint muddy buddies then I made a larger batch of hot chocolate muddy buddies(next time i would use milk chocolate melting wafers but i used what i had on hand then i coated them in hot chocolate mix(i chose the kind with the mini marshmallows in it but you could also do it with regular mini marshmallows)). Then I mixed the batch of Peppermint muddy buddies with the batch of hot chocolate muddy buddies and the contrast in colors is truly magical! Enjoy!
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I am excited to try this. I don’t like the muddy buddies with peanut butter, but I do love peppermint. Just bought a bag of crushed candy canes from Walmart.
How long would you say these are good for?