Robby's Baking Therapy

One treat, two names, and a bag of powdered sugar shaken over everything.

  The “baking therapy” discussed on this blog refers to my personal experience using baking as a self-help and relaxation tool.”

Hey everybirdy, Robby here. Day 12 of Winterfest Baking, and today is a snow day kind of bake, except there is no baking at all.

Puppy chow. Muddy buddies. Whatever your house calls it, it is the treat that means a party is coming: Chex cereal folded into melted chocolate and peanut butter, then shaken in a bag of powdered sugar until every piece wears a white coat. Briella made it in chapter twelve of her Winterfest, from her mom’s recipe, and my house has a mom story in it too, and a dad story, and I am going to tell you both, because both are true.

One thing first, because it matters: this is a human snack, named for how it looks, not who it is for. Chocolate is not safe for dogs. This one is for the people.

Meet Briella Ponder

Today we are going to be making a recipe that I got from my mom. Every Christmas we would make this treat for a party. A lot of people call this Puppy Chow, but my mom calls it Muddy Buddies.

Briella stocked up for the season: extra boxes of Chex, and red and green sprinkles to make her batch Christmas colored. Her tools are a big bowl, a baking sheet, and a bag for the powdered sugar.

The recipe she follows says to microwave the chocolate, butter, and peanut butter. She melts hers in a double boiler instead. This year she used the Instant Pot as her double boiler, and it worked faster, but it sits too tall on her counter.

So she stood on a chair to stir the chocolate. Baking is glamorous like that.

The Chex goes into the big bowl, the chocolate goes over it, and the folding is gentle. The one rule of puppy chow is do not crush the cereal you are trying to coat.

Then the whole thing goes into the bag with the powdered sugar and gets shaken until every piece is coated white.

Spread it on the baking sheet to dry, and try a handful, because of course she tried a handful. She got powdered sugar all over her sweater, which is the official sign that puppy chow has been made correctly.

Her chapter gives no amounts, on purpose. You can find the measurements in the description below, she says. The amounts below are from my recipe card on this page.

A Robby note, and this one is personal: my reblog of her chapter said this was one of the first things I remember making as a high schooler. I made it for a choir party one year. Some recipes you learn from a book. This one I learned standing in a kitchen watching my mother, learning that the shaking step takes patience.

What You Will Need

These are the amounts on this post’s recipe card, the version readers print:

• 8 cups Rice Chex (Honey Chex works for a sweeter batch)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter (margarine works the same way in my kitchen)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

And an honest flag, in the open: the post body above this card has always said 9 cups of cereal, 1 cup of chips, and 1/4 cup of butter. The card says 8, 2, and 1/2. They cannot both be the recipe. The price sheet counted both versions so you can see what each one costs, and whichever set of amounts you choose, the other one needs correcting when you paste this update.

Let’s Get Baking

1. Melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter together. Microwave in 30 second bursts, a double boiler, or my favorite way: the Instant Pot my dad gave me one Christmas, used as a double boiler. It melts evenly and keeps its patience better than I do.
2. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Pour the cereal into your biggest bowl and fold the chocolate mixture over it, gently, until every piece is coated. Do not rush and do not crush.
4. Let the coated cereal cool about 15 minutes. Warm cereal into sugar is how clumps are born.
5. Put the powdered sugar in a big bag, add the cereal, seal it, and shake until everything wears its white coat. Take your time. This is the step my mother taught me patience with.
6. Spread it on a baking sheet to cool and set.
7. Store it airtight. (The body of this post has said a week at room temperature and two months in the freezer; the card has said five days and two weeks in the fridge. One more line to make agree when you paste; the freezer note is the one I trust in my own kitchen.)

Questions and Robby

Is this safe for dogs?
No. It is a people snack with a silly name. Chocolate is not safe for dogs, full stop. Make your dog something else and keep this bowl for the humans.

Can I use a different Chex?
Rice Chex gives the lightest, crispiest result. Corn or Wheat Chex change the flavor; Honey Chex makes a sweeter batch. All of them work. Rice is the classic.

Mine clumped. What happened?
Heat and hurry, almost every time. Cool the coated cereal before the sugar bag, and if the chocolate mixture feels too hot, let it sit a few minutes first. Patience is an ingredient in this one. I learned that watching my mother.

What does a batch really cost?
Because the post gives two versions, you get two sets of numbers, all counted the usual three ways. The card version: $7.81 at Walmart, $5.20 at Costco, and $5.91 with the Chex given, about $0.43 a serving at Walmart. The body version, with its extra cup of cereal and half the chips: $5.88 at Walmart, $3.76 at Costco, and $3.74 with the Chex given. In the card version, the chips cost more than the cereal does, so a gifted bag of chips would bring that batch to $3.95.

Your card says $5.05. Neither count lands there. Why?
Older prices, most likely, and possibly a mix of the two versions. When you pick the version that stands, I will set the card’s cost to match it exactly.

Closing

My dad is in this recipe because the Instant Pot on my counter came from him, one Christmas, and it changed how I melt chocolate. My mom is in this recipe because she is the one who made it every Christmas and taught me its patience. Briella got it from her mom too. Three kitchens, two names for the same treat, one bag of powdered sugar shaken over all of it.

Do you make the classic version, or do you have a fun variation your house swears by? Tell me in the comments. And if you shake up a batch, you are not alone in the kitchen. You never were.

Bake the real thing: The recipe card is right on this page, and it makes 18 servings. Counted three ways, card version: $7.81 at Walmart, $5.20 at Costco, $5.91 with gifted Chex. Body version: $5.88, $3.76, and $3.74.

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