Dark Chocolate Puppy Chow Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between muddy buddies and puppy chow? ›

Muddy Buddies is actually the official name of the recipe marketed by General Mills, the maker of Chex cereal. Names like “puppy chow” and others have become layman's terms for homemade versions like this one.

Cool completely on a baking sheet until firm before packing into an airtight container. This step of cooling and drying is essential for puppy chow that will stay crisp, not soggy.

What Is Puppy Chow? “Puppy chow” (a.k.a. muddy buddies) is the name for a homemade candy or snack that's made with cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. General Mills sells their own version of the popular treat, but it's easy to make at home with just a few ingredients.

Puppy chow is a party staple in the Midwest, but not everywhere else. Puppy chow — a snack mix made of Chex cereal covered in melted chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar — is often a fixture at parties. People outside of the Midwest have often never heard of it, and they don't know what they're missing.

Its brown kibble-like appearance harkens back to the chow of the Purina company, and the name wasn't subtle, people called it Puppy Chow, knowing well that the dog food company manufactured that cereal. While party mix was a little more universally known for many decades, Puppy Chow was a neat quirk of the Midwest.

Without giving the 'chow time to cool, all that scalding-hot fat will continue to absorb the powdered sugar, making it too sweet and a bit soggy inside . Spread the stuff out on a sheet pan and let it rest for 20ish minutes before tossing the mix in powdered sugar.

If you add the powdered sugar while the mixture is still warm it will soak right in and won't help separate the chunks at all. Making sure your mixture is slightly cooled will mean you can use less powdered sugar in the end.

Muddy Buddies Recipe FAQs

Second, make sure when you are finished making the recipe that the Muddy Buddies are stored in an airtight container or sealed ziplock bag. Air reaching the cereal, especially cold refrigerator or freezer air, will cause the cereal to get stale over time.

Puppy chow, also known as monkey munch, muddy buddies, muddy munch, reindeer chow, or doggy bag, is the name for a homemade candy made in the United States, primarily in the Midwestern States.

Easy answer: yes, your sack of dry dog food will go stale much faster if you leave it open. Unopened dry dog food tends to have a shelf life of around 12-18 months, but once you open it, you should aim to use it up in about 6 weeks.

Why is my puppy chow clumpy? ›

Make sure you don't overheat your chocolate/peanut butter/butter mixture! This will keep the chocolate from burning and becoming clumpy. Before you begin, prep a parchment-lined baking sheet and a bag filled with powdered sugar so you can move quickly.

Remember, you want to pair fruit that has a very strong taste, otherwise the dark chocolate will drown out the other flavor. The best seasonal and exotic fruits for pairing with dark chocolate include raspberries, cherries, strawberries, bananas, kiwi, raisins, and coconut.

It is also a source of good fats and antioxidants. Dark chocolate contains a significant number of flavonoids, a type of protein that is responsible for its bitter taste and provides many health benefits to the body. Flavonoids present in dark chocolate is known to promote better cardiovascular health.

Whether Puppy Chow is named for its Purina pet food connection is up for debate, but either way, it's still fun to know that a dog food company invented a central part of this delicious snack. In 2002 General Mills developed Muddy Buddies, the same recipe as Puppy Chow.

Multiple Midwesterners happily shared stories of the prevalence of puppy chow going back to the '60s, but General Mills, the owner and producer of the Chex cereal brand since 1996, says that the Muddy Buddies recipe was developed in 2002.

Puppy food does have slightly higher levels of calcium and phosphorous when compared to most adult dog foods. Puppy food also has a higher fat and protein content, meaning there are more calories per bite than the adult version of the same brand.

Puppy food does have more calories than dog food, because puppies need more calories to support growth. AAFCO recommends a minimum of 8.5% for dry puppy food versus only 5.5% for adult dog food. More calcium in puppy formulas. Growing teeth and bones need extra support.