Reindeer Chow – A Yummy Festive Snack Mix
Home » COOK » Recipes » Holiday Recipes » Christmas Recipes »Make a huge bowl of Reindeer Chow for the holidays for everyone to nibble on while waiting for Santa or while watching a Christmas movie! The classic homemade snack made with Chex cereal, melted chocolate, and peanut butter gets a festive makeover and is so easy to make. It also makes an awesome, last-minute edible gift! Scoop it into cello bags, tie off with some ribbon and add a gift tag for a tasty handmade present.
I’ve got more fun Reindeer Crafts and Recipes for you to enjoy – right click and open these ideas in a new tab so that you can read them after this one!
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Reindeer Chow
If you’re one of my American readers you will know all about the homemade snack called Muddy Buddies or Puppy Chow, but if you’re one of my readers from elsewhere in the world you may be clueless as to what this is!
Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddies is made using Chex cereal that is mixed with melted chocolate and peanut butter and then coated with powdered (icing) sugar. It is said to resemble an American brand of dog food – hence the name Puppy Chow!
It can then be mixed with a bunch of other snack ingredients like pretzels, nuts, chocolate, sprinkles and more; and even made with a variety of different flavors and colorings for different seasons.
Anywho, using pretzels and red and green M&M’s we’re making Reindeer Chow for Christmas!
Ingredients used in this recipe
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, but here is a brief outline so you know what to expect from the recipe.
I highly recommend always reading a recipe all the way through before starting.
For my UK readers: When I go on vacation to the USA, I like to stock up on my favourite American food products and ingredients, so you’ll find them used in some of the recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog. However, we can buy a lot of American ingredients online these days, and in supermarkets (check the World Foods aisle!) which is awesome! (Although sometimes the price can be on the high side…)
When I use American ingredients in recipes that I share on my blog, I always aim to suggest British alternatives or include Amazon affiliate links to where you can buy them online.
- Chex – this is an American cereal that we do not have in the UK, however, you can buy it online.
- Christmas (Red & Green) M&M’s
- Pretzel Twists
- Chocolate chips, smooth peanut butter, powdered (icing) sugar
Chex comes in different varieties – corn, rice, and wheat – as well as flavored varieties like cinnamon, vanilla, and honey nut.
The closest I can think of that we can use in the UK is Shreddies, which are made from wheat. You could also try mini Shredded Wheat. By the time you cover them in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar I think the substitution will be just fine!
Reindeer Chow Recipe Tips
- Chex is an American cereal made by General Mills. You can also use Crispix by Kelloggs.
- Neither are available in the UK (where I am from!) but you can buy them online.
- A UK alternative (and a heads up for American Ex-Pats!) are Nestle Shreddies or Shredded Wheat. Shreddies also comes in a chocolate variety that I think would work well in this recipe.
- Melt chocolate chips and smooth (creamy) peanut butter in the microwave in increments stirring in between. You don’t want to burn the chocolate.
- Mix the cereal with the melted chocolate peanut butter mixture and turn with a spoon until coated.
- You need a gallon-size Ziploc bag for this recipe. In the UK buy the biggest you can find in the supermarket, Tesco XL bags seem comparable in size!
- Shake the powdered sugar (icing sugar) and cocoa in the Ziploc to coat the insides, then add in the chocolate covered cereal and shake to coat the pieces with the sugar mix.
- Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread out the cereal on top and leave to set/dry.
Make It A Meal!
This is more of a snack than a dessert – but there is no reason you can’t munch on Reindeer Chow for dessert! But what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal!
- Appetizer: 7 Ways To Make Devilled Eggs
- Main Dish: Turkey Dinner with Apricot, Cranberry, Pecan Pork Stuffing
- Side Dish: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Shallots
- Side Salad: Roasted Apple Cauliflower Mash with Crispy Brussels Sprouts
- Beverage: Naughty Elf Cocktail
- Dessert: Layered Reindeer Cake
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy! Please feel free to check them out too.
More Recipes Using Chocolate
One of the main ingredients in this recipe is chocolate, so here are a few more chocolate-based recipes
More Snack Recipes
Need some more snack ideas? Take a look at these recipes next:
Reindeer Chow Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 6 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 oz Christmas M&M’s
- 2 cups pretzel twists
Instructions
- Place the cereal in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave the chocolate and peanut butter in 30-second increments stirring each time until melted and smooth.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and use a spatula to gently toss the cereal in the chocolate until completely coated.
- Place the powder sugar and cocoa powder inside a resealable gallon-sized food-safe plastic bag. Seal and shake.
- Add the chocolate-coated cereal to the bag and seal and shake again until the cereal is coated in the cocoa/sugar mix.
- Pour the cereal out evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Leave to cool and dry completely.
- When the cereal has dried and cool, place in a large bowl with the M&M's and pretzels and stir to combine.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.