This Christmas Puppy Chow is a simple sweet and salty snack to enjoy at holiday parties or while watching Christmas movies. This party mix uses Rice Chex cereal, Cheerios, pretzels, holiday M&M’s, mini peanut butter cups, cashew butter, chocoate chips and coated in powdered sugar.
Christmas Puppy Chow Snack Mix Recipe
Christmas Chow, Reindeer Chow, Santa’s Munch Mix, Bunny Bait, Muddy Buddies, Puppy Chow – no matter what you call it, this stuff is so fun and simple to make! It makes the perfect snack to munch on while you’re wrapping gifts or watching some festive holiday movies.
And you can’t beat how easy it comes together too. My kids loved helping me mix this classic sweet and savory treat together. We add everything into a resealable bag and shake! So simple and super fun for the kids.
The best part about making your own snack mix is that you can easily customize the ingredients with what you have in your pantry. You can also use use Gluten-Free Rice Chex or grain-free cereal, grain-free pretzel twists and grain-free pretzel sticks to make this mix grain-free and paleo-friendly.
To make this slightly lower in sugar, you can use powdered maple sugar or powdered Lakanto monkfruit sweetener instead of powdered or confectioners’ sugar. Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely still not health food but it is once a year for the kids.
Recipe ingredients
- Creamy unsalted cashew butter OR sub any nut butter or seed butter
- Chocolate Chips: We like Pascha’s Chocolate, Hu’s and Enjoy Life to keep this snack mix dairy-free.
- Gluten-Free Rice Chex cereal: sub with grain-free cereal “O’s or grain-free cereal flakes of choice (we like Love Bird Unsweetened Grain-Free O’s and Nucoconut Grain-Free Coconut Crunch Cereal)
- “O”-shaped cereal of choice such as Cheerios: Sub with grain-free cereal “O’s – we like Love Bird Unsweetened Grain-Free O’s.
- Gluten-free OR grain-free pretzel sticks , we like FitJoy
- Gluten-free OR grain-free pretzel twists , we like Quinn’s Snacks OR FitJoy
- Powdered sugar of choice: you can also use powdered monkfruit sweetener ,OR any powdered sweetener OR powdered sugar of choice
Optional
- Red & Green Holiday M&M’s or Holiday Candies or Holiday sprinkles: leave out if desired – this adds a festive holiday touch
- Mini peanut butter cups: again, leave out if desired
How to make Christmas Puppy Chow
- In a large bowl, combine both cereals, mini pretzels, half of the M&M’s and half of the peanut butter cups. Melt the nut butter and chocolate together, either on the stovetop or in the microwave until smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal / pretzel mixture and stir to combine.
- Chill in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the mixture from the refrigerator.
- Slowly add the powdered sweetener, in ½ cup increments over the cereal [or alternatively, add the powdered sweetener to a large zip-top bag. Then carefully add the cereal (in batches as needed to ensure well coated), seal the bag and shake well until the cereal is fully coated Transfer to a serving bowl.], then carefully stir the cereal to coat. Add more powdered sugar, as needed.
- Top with remaining M&Ms, peanut butter cups and the pretzel sticks. Stir to combine and enjoy or transfer to gift bags for gifting.
Package it up into portions for a delicious homemade gift for friends, family and neighbors.
More holiday treats you will love:
This Christmas Puppy Chow is a simple sweet and salty snack to enjoy at holiday parties or while watching Christmas movies. This party mix uses Rice Chex cereal, Cheerios, pretzels, holiday M&M's, mini peanut butter cups, cashew butter, chocoate chips and coated in powdered sugar
- 3 cups Rice Chex Cereal , can sub with grain-free cereal flakes of choice (we like Love Bird Unsweetened Grain-Free O's and Nucoconut Grain-Free Coconut Crunch Cereal)
- 2 cups Cheerios or O’shaped cereal of choice
- 1/2 cup mini pretzels , we like Quinn's Snacks OR FitJoy
- 1 1/2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips or 16 oz chocolate bar, we like Pascha’s or Hu Kitchen
- 3/4 cup creamy nut butter / seed butter of choice
- 1 ½ - 2 cups powdered sugar / sweetener of choice , use Lakanto powdered monk fruit sweetener for lower sugar option
- 1/2 cup mini pretzels . gluten-free as needed, slightly crushed, we like Quinn's Snacks OR FitJoy
- 1 cup holiday M&Ms divided (for a festive touch - leave out or sub with chocolate candy of choice)
- 1/2 cup mini peanut butter cups divided, (leave out or sub with chocolate candy of choice)
- ½ cup pretzel sticks gluten-free as needed, slightly crushed, we like Quinn's Snacks OR FitJoy
- In a large bowl, combine both cereals, mini pretzels, half of the M&M’s and half of the peanut butter cups. Melt the nut butter and chocolate together, either on the stovetop or in the microwave until smooth.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal / pretzel mixture and stir to combine.
- Chill in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the mixture from the refrigerator.
- Slowly add the powdered sweetener, in ½ cup increments over the cereal [or alternatively, add the powdered sweetener to a large zip-top bag. Then carefully add the cereal (in batches as needed to ensure well coated), seal the bag and shake well until the cereal is fully coated Transfer to a serving bowl.], then carefully stir the cereal to coat. Add more powdered sugar, as needed.
- Top with remaining M&Ms, peanut butter cups and the pretzel sticks. Stir to combine and enjoy or transfer to gift bags for gifting.
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