Christmas Puppy Chow Recipe

Overhead of a bowl of reindeer chow surrounded by festive red and white decorations.

5 from 1 vote

Christmas Puppy Chow Recipe

Get into the holiday spirit with this sweet favorite! Christmas puppy chow makes a great snack you can gift or enjoy while watching your favorite holiday movie.

Prep Time9

Cook Time1

Total Time10

Course: Snacks

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 298kcal

Author: Cassie Johnston

Ingredients

7 cups Rice Chex Cereal
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups holiday M&Ms plain or mint

Instructions

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper, set aside.
Place 7 cups Rice Chex Cereal into a large mixing bowl.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, ½ cup creamy peanut butter, and ¼ cup butter. Heat for 1 minute, and stir to combine until completely melted. You can also do this in a double broiler over low heat on the stove.
Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth.
Pour the chocolate mixture over cereal and stir to coat.
In a gallon-size zip-top bag, add 2 cups powdered sugar and the cereal mixture.
Seal bag and toss to coat. Pour mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
Sprinkle 2 cups holiday M&Ms on top, stirring gently to mix.
Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Notes

We love to make this with mint M&Ms—the combo of chocolate and peppermint is just perfect for the holidays. Plain M&Ms also work!
We prefer semisweet chocolate chips in this recipe because there is so much sweetness added from the other ingredients, but if milk chocolate is your jam, that’ll work, too! Or even try white chocolate chips if you aren’t a chocolate lover.
You can make this dairy-free by using vegan margarine (we’ve used Earth Balance sticks in this recipe before with great results) and vegan candy-coated chocolate in place of the M&Ms (Unreal dark chocolate gems work).
This recipe differs from what you’ll find on the Chex box. We tested it a number of times and found that there is a more flavorful result with less Chex than the original recipe calls for.

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