Reindeer Food (Christmas Puppy Chow)
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Whip up this easy reindeer food which is a sweet and crunchy snack mix to get you in the holiday spirit. A great Christmas snack mix that has a chocolate peanut butter coated Chex mix, mini peanut butter cups, and Christmas M&Ms that can be given to loved ones, and co-workers, and shared at school parties.
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This easy-to-make no-bake Christmas mix that will win you over with one bite. If you want some more festive Christmas treats make sure to check out my Christmas tree cake dip, gnome cake pops, or Christmas truffles. All are delicious desserts.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
No Bake: There’s nothing better than a recipe that’s no fuss. One saucepan and one mixing bowl is all you need.
Festive and Fun: You know I love a good festive dessert and this one says it all in the name whichever one you call it. Reindeer Food or Christmas Puppy Chow.
Great for Gifting: People love this stuff! It’s great to either bag up with a cute Christmas ribbon pulling it goether or in a fun, festive container. We all know homemade edible gifts are the best kind of gift.
Feeds a Crowd: This reindeer food can really go a long ways when you’re feeding a crowd or even a very determined individual like my teenage son.
FREE EMAIL BONUS: Treat yourself with these delicious recipes
Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all ingredients and quantities.
- Cereal – Chex cereal either rice or corn works great for this snack mix. You can use one of them or use half of each.
- Butter – Reach for real butter for this recipe. I find margarine is too greasy and will affect the overall texture.
- Peanut Butter – Creamy peanut butter is what I used for flavoring the chocolate to create a peanut butter chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate – Semi-sweet or milk chocolate both work great for this recipe. Use whichever you would like.
- Vanilla – A splash of vanilla extract is going to really elevate the flavor of this snack mix.
- Powdered Sugar – The coating for the snack mix is powdered sugar. This helps ensure the chex-coated cereal doesn’t stick together.
- Peanut Butter Cups – I bought the mini peanut butter cups and it was a perfect addition to the snack mix.
- M&Ms -The red and green M&Ms give the reindeer food/puppy chow/muddy buddies a festive crunch.
Variations
- Nut Spreads – Instead of peanut butter, you can use nut butter to replace it. Almond butter, sunflower butter, etc.
- Chocolate – Feel free to use white chocolate, milk chocolate, or semi-sweet chocolate. Feel free to use any type of chocolate. Or you can go a step further and do half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet chocolate if you would prefer a different level of flavor.
- Extracts – You can use vanilla, almond extract, and other flavors to alter the overall flavor. Even a mint extract would be a great flavor pairing.
- Here are a few ideas of what you could add to the snack mix to change up the overall flavor of the reindeer food.
- Cookies – Chop up Oreo cookies and mix in into the mixture, for tasty cookies and cream flavor.
- Chocolate Chips – Mix in some white chocolate, mini chocolate chips, etc. Feel free to pick and choose what you would like.
- Dried Fruit – Add a sweet twist with some dried fruit. Raisins, dried cranberries, apricots or other fruit would be great.
- Nuts – Nuts or seeds will add a nice crunch to the mixture. Cashews, pistachios, almonds, pecans, etc.
- Marshmallows – Mini marshmallows or dehydrated marshmallows would be a great mix-in option.
- Golden Grahams – Reach for some dry cereal to mix in with the Chex. It will add a tasty graham cracker flavor to the mix.
- Caramel Bits – You can find these in the baking aisle, they are like a chocolate chip but they are a soft caramel.
- Crushed Peppermint – Mix in the crushed peppermint with the melted chocolate to coat the Chex cereal with. Adds a nice minty twist.
- Andes Mints – Dice up some Andes mints for mixing in, for another cool mint flavor option.
NOTE: This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations
How to Make Reindeer Food
- In a medium saucepan add the butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. Heat on low heat, stirring often to melt the chocolate.
- Next, remove from the heat and add in the vanilla. Mix until combined.
- In a large bowl add your Chex cereal. Then pour the melted chocolate over the cereal.
- Mix to coat, and then add the powdered sugar and mix until the chocolate is fully coated in the sugar.
- Next, add in the peanut butter cups and the M&M’s. Mix and then devour.
Tips for Making Reindeer Food
Melt chocolate carefully making sure to stir often or it will burn the chocolate. You can use a saucepan, double boiler, or even heat in the microwave.
Add the chocolate to the bowl with the cereal. Then make sure to evenly coat all the cereal.
You can add powdered sugar to a Ziploc bag and then add some of the chocolate-coated cereal and shake the bag to evenly coat the cereal in the powdered sugar.
Make sure the peanut butter fully melts into the chocolate before you add to the cereal.
Let the puppy chow cool a bit before you add in any mix-in items.
How To Store and Freeze
Store the reindeer food in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You will find this snack option stores well so if you would like to make it in advance you could.
Another option is freezing the snack mix to extend the shelf life even more. Place in a freezer container or freezer bag and then freeze for up to 2 months.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe can be doubled or even tripled if you would like. Just reach for a larger bowl so you can hold it all, or work in batches.
Yes, you can. Crispex, Cheerios, Golden Grahams, and more are all great options. You can also use any type of Chex cereal. Feel free to try out different cereals and find what you prefer in terms of flavor.
Mix gently with a silicone spatula while the mixture is still coated in wet chocolate. This is going to help break up any larger clumps. Then when I get it coated in powdered sugar, spread it out on parchment paper so it is evenly spread to dry.
More Tasty Snacks
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Reindeer Food
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Ingredients
- 8 cups corn or rice chex cereal
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup mini peanut butter cups
- 1 ½ cups red and green M&M’s
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add the butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. Heat over low heat while stirring frequently until the chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.3 tablespoons butter, ½ cup creamy peanut butter, 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips
- Add the vanilla and stir until fully combined.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a large bowl, add the Chex cereal.8 cups corn or rice chex cereal
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture over top of the cereal and stir with until all of the cereal is coated with the chocolate mixture.
- Add the powdered sugar and stir until puppy chow is completely coated with the powdered sugar and is no longer sticky from the wet chocolate.1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- Add the peanut butter cups and M&M’s and carefully fold in until evenly distributed.1 cup mini peanut butter cups, 1 ½ cups red and green M&M’s
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
