It’s the most wonderful time of the year and in my home it’s also the most delicious time of the year. I absolutely adore whipping up special treats for family and friends during the holiday season and for me, experimenting with old recipes while adding a new flare is what makes this time of year so magical. I’ll be the first to admit that I spend a good portion of the holiday season in the kitchen. I just can’t help myself and I know that a truly perfect way for me to share love with the special people in my life is through a little something sweet. Each year, I try to come up with a signature holiday recipe that I can serve up at home, dish out at parties and most importantly, gift to others as a way to spread the holiday cheer. In past years I’ve mixed up cookies that had just the right amount of peppermint and brittle to make anyone drool. This year, I really went above and beyond with my sweet holiday treat and I made Peanut Butter and Chocolate Holiday Muddy Buddies™!
Now, just in case you don’t know what Muddy Buddies are, I’m about to enlighten you and introduce you to your new holiday snacking must-have! Muddy Buddies are traditionally Chex™ Cereal coated in melted chocolate and peanut butter and tossed in powdered sugar. Sounds good right? Well, it totally is but I’ve never been a believer in the old adage that you can’t improve perfection. In fact, I think that you can absolutely take a treat as amazing as Muddy Buddies and make it even better and that’s exactly what I was able to do by adding Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios™, nuts, peanut butter cups and more to the traditional Muddy Buddies recipe! This easy to make holiday treat has just the right festive flair and is perfect for serving at parties or giving as gifts! Here’s how you can make it using ingredients from Publix!
What You Will Need
9 Cups of Rice Chex™ or Corn Chex™ Cereal
1 cup Nestlé® Semisweet Chocolate Chips
½ cup Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter
¼ Cup of Butter
1 Teaspoon of McCormick® Pure Vanilla
1 ½ Cups of Powdered Sugar
3 Cups of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios™ cereal
32 Miniature Peanut Butter Cups (unwrapped and cut in half)
1 Cup Planters® Salted Cocktail Peanuts
Red and Green Chocolate Candies and Sprinkles for Color (optional)
Ziploc® 2-4 count containers (for sharing!)
Psst….here’s a holiday not-so-secret gift for you! Right now when you purchase 3 boxes of Chex cereal you can get one (1) box of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios FREE! Get your coupon here so that you can start making this delicious treat today!
How to Make It
This easy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Holiday Muddy Buddies recipe is a must but for any holiday occasion! It makes great teacher gifts, neighbor gifts or even just a perfect snack to munch on in front of the tree! To make this tasty treat, I first started by measuring out my Chex Cereal into a bowl.
Once I had all of my Chex cereal added to my bowl, I poured my semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter into a smaller bowl and microwaved them for one and a half minutes, stirring the mixture every thirty seconds. As soon as my mixture was hot and melty, I poured in my pure vanilla and mixed it all together until it was nice and smooth.
With my chocolate and peanut butter mixture still hot so that it would perfectly coat my cereal, I poured it over the top of my Chex and then stirred it gently, coating the cereal without crushing it in the process.
As soon as I had my cereal covered in my deliciously gooey chocolate mixture, I transferred it to a large Ziploc® bag.
I immediately poured my confectioner’s sugar in and sealed the bag, shaking it gently so that the sugar would stick to every piece of my Chex cereal, turning it into amazing Muddy Buddies.
Now, often Muddy Buddies are served just like this, but after discovering an amazing recipe that inspired me to go a little further, I quickly opened my bag back up and poured in my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios.
This crunchy cereal with just the right hint of chocolate and peanut butter in every bite was the perfect complement to the already amazing flavor of my Muddy Buddies! After cutting my peanut butter cups in half and adding them to the bag along with my peanuts, I sealed it up again, gave it a few final shakes to ensure that the delicious confectioner’s sugar was on every morsel and opened my bag to discover perfection in the form of Peanut Butter and Chocolate Holiday Muddy Buddies!
I knew the taste of my Peanut Butter and Chocolate Holiday Muddy Buddies was just right but I wanted to add a little festive flair so I quickly pulled out some red and green chocolate candies and red and green sprinkles and gave my Muddy Buddies a holiday spritzing that had this dish looking as festive as it tastes! After adding it to a serving bowl, I had the perfect snack for my guests all season long!
I have to say the taste of these Peanut Butter and Chocolate Holiday Muddy Buddies was so inspiring that I decided it had to be shared…and shared some more! I quickly pulled out some Ziploc containers and filled them with my delightful creation.
After securing each one with a red bow to finish the holiday look, I set my containers of my Peanut Butter and Chocolate Muddy Buddies on the table as well. Now, I can encourage my guests to enjoy this sweet treat in the comfort of my home and to take some with them as well to ensure that the holidays stay delicious and bright!
Are you ready to whip up this tasty treat to spread the holiday cheer to your own friends and family? Head to your local Publix today and pick up all the ingredients and then check out this easy video that shows you how to make this delicious treat! To help you create more delicious moments, right now when you buy 3 Chex cereals you’ll get one (1) box of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios FREE! Be sure to look for both Chex Cereal and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios in the cereal aisle at your local Publix today! Then check out all the details on this amazing offer and print out your coupon here!
Now tell me, how will you spread the cheer in a delicious way this holiday season with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Holiday Muddy Buddies made with Chex cereal and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios from Publix?
This looks pretty easy to do…even for me! I would probably put in Mason jars to give as gifts for a few gatherings I’m headed to. Thanks for the recipe!
Usually during the holidays, we make a snack with Chex Mix cereals. This recipe could possibly replace our normal snack this year. Looks super easy to make and looks delicious.
This looks like a great snack for the holidays! I love Reese’s peanut butter cups, so that right there is a winner for me. I’m sure other family members would agree too.
I love making muddy buddies! You can customize them for any theme, season or holiday!
How is it that this is one of my favorite snacks yet I only think of it around the holidays? LOL I could be making this all year long! Thanks for the recipe. I have never made it myself but usually get it from friends. I will try making some!
This looks so delicious and so easy to make! My boy will absolutely love this. Will have to check if I could get all the ingredients at the grocery store here 😀
Best treat for the holiday. Fun to make with the kids
One of my coworkers makes this muddy buddy mix every holiday. It’s always a hit! Everyone loves the salty sweet tasty treat
Wow! I’m impressed how sharp looking your pictures are in this post. Made me feel like I was at your place with you while making up a batch. I always enjoy trail mix type snacks like this!
What a great recipe, This looks so delicious. I love sweets especially chocolates. I’ll surely love this since it is a combination of peanut butter and chocolate which I love the most.
This is the best recipe for the Christmas. My kids will love it
i have never heard of muddy buddy recipe before but this looks pretty easy to make and delicous holiday snack.
I don’t think I ever made muddy buddies but this looks delicious. I totally need to try this recipe because it looks like a delicious snack.
Those look ridiculously good! I’ve never tried making any kind of chex mix snack, but these sound fantastic, and not too hard to make either.
I love this holiday treat! It is so messy and delicious. Always a favorite around the holidays!
This is such a cool recipe and doable! I am going to look for the Peanut Butter chocolate Cheerios.
I know that I have heard of this recipe, but i don’t know whether it was called Muddy buddies or not. Whatever it was called, I think I will have to try out making it now with my daughter.
This would be perfect for teacher gifts. My boys would have fun making it with me.
We make something similar to this every year and it is always fun to give something so delicious as a gift. We tend to try and focus on homemade gifts and this is a great option.
Two of my favorite things – chocolate and peanut butter. YUM! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I have never made muddy buddies before but these really sound great. Our holiday guests will love them too!
That looks tasty! This looks fun to make with kids, maybe we will make it during our homeschool break.
I actually really think I want to make these over the holidays for my in-laws!! I feel like this would be an insane crowd pleaser!! The kids will ADORE this too!!
This is yummy colorful fun snacks for holiday! I can see myself munching nonstop 🙂
I would love to try making this for Christmas! It’s such a great snack idea and I can see my family munching on this all day long.
This is one of our favorites to make every year. The kids have come to expect it!
I might just have to make these this weekend. I love the muddy buddy recipes.
This looks like a great treat to have for a party or even a night in! And it is a great recipe to make as a family. Thanks so much for sharing!
This looks really good and easy to make. I’m having the grandkids this weekend, may try this
This looks so yummy! I love all the Christmas treats I’ve been seeing lately.
This looks like an awesome recipe!
We love Chex Mix during the holidays. I’m definitely going to try this.
I can’t wait to make this peanut butter muddy buddies recipe. I bet it would be delicious in some ice cream with a froyo update. I’m going to have to fufill all my Chex needs at Publix for the foreseeable future.
Muddie Buddies are one of my favorite holiday treats! This version looks extra delicious.
Well, I know what I’m bringing to the holiday party. And, for that note, I work for myself, so what I really mean is that I’m going to make a batch of these and eat them myself!
This is awesome, yummy and colourful. More than eating it would be s fun to make them. That melted chocolate made me crave for it so much. Must be very Sweet and Delicious.
I don’t bake a lot but every now and then I like baking. This looks yummy and a perfect holiday treat.
I really love peanut butter and also chocolates. That is such a great idea. I can’t wait to make this kind of recipe for me and my family.
These are great gifts and easy to make. I brought containers yesterday and all the ingredients I can’t wait to make this weekend.
Woah, It is easy to make it. Plus peanut butter and chocolate is what i like most . Seem like after this holiday I will have problem with my weight! 😀