Reindeer Chow is a fun and delicious treat to make. It is hard to resist once you take a bite whether you are a kid, kid at heart, or even an adult. This recipe doesn’t skimp on peanut butter, chocolate, cereal, or deliciousness. There are many variations of this recipe and ways to make it your own. I have added some ideas, thoughts, and tips below.

Ingredients
• 1 box (12 ounces) Corn Chex (you can use Rice Chex, Corn Chex, or a mixture of all three is also delicious)
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup butter, cubed
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 bag of Christmas M & M’s (red and green)
• 1 bag of miniature peanut butter cups

Directions

Step 1: Melt the chocolate and peanut butter
Pour the cereal into a large bowl; set aside. In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir gently. Continue microwaving, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and blended.

Step 2: Coat the cereal with the chocolate
Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal. Gently stir with a spatula to coat, trying not to crush any of the cereal.

Tip: Start by adding three-fourths of the amount of cereal to the bowl and see how the chocolate mixture coats it. You can always add the rest if there’s too much melted chocolate to go around.

Step 3: Shake the mixture with the sugar
In batches, place the coated cereal and the confectioners’ sugar in a large, sealed container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap (as long as you shake gently). Shake until well coated.

Tip: Wait for the chocolate-peanut butter mixture on the cereal to cool down slightly before you add the sugar. Don’t worry, it will still stick—this will just help prevent the chocolate from absorbing the confectioners’ sugar right away and forcing you to add more to coat.

Step 4: Let the chow set then add m&m’s and peanut butter cups
Transfer the chow to a baking sheet and let stand until set. Add candy. Store in airtight containers or resealable bags.

Reindeer Chow, Puppy Chow, or Snowman Poop Variations
• Cake batter chow: If you’re a cake-batter lover like me, you’ll love this twist on the chow recipe. Use white chocolate chips instead of semisweet chips, and Funfetti or white cake mix instead of the confectioners’ sugar.
• Brownie batter chow: Shake the coated cereal mixture with a box of dry brownie mix instead of confectioners’ sugar.
• S’mores chow: Add in some graham cereal and mini marshmallows to freshly prepared chow to create a snack version of the beloved summer dessert.
• Cookies-and-cream chow: Swap out the semisweet chocolate chips for white chocolate chips, and add some chopped or mini Oreos to create crunchy morsels that taste like cookies and cream.
• Hot cocoa chow: If you’ve got a bunch of hot cocoa packets lying around, shake your chow mixture with hot cocoa mix instead of confectioners’ sugar for a rich chocolate-y flavor.
• White chocolate chow: This is a great variation when you want the color of the chow to match the theme of the occasion you’re making chow for. After you melt the white chocolate baking chips, add a few drops of your food coloring of choice before tossing it with the cereal. Make green chow for St. Patrick’s Day, pink chow for Valentine’s Day, and more.

MORE TIPS AND INFORMATION
 When stored in a resealable bag or airtight container, this chow will last for up to a week. Though, we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s gone in just a day or two! This sweet and irresistible snack is called puppy chow because, honestly, it kind of looks like dog food. However, we can guarantee that this version is much better tasting for humans (and, more importantly, this puppy chow recipe is not for dogs!).

 Puppy chow also goes by other names. General Mills, the original inventor of puppy chow, famously calls the recipe “Muddy Buddies,” as you’ll see on the back of the box of Chex cereal. /During Christmastime, some people like to call it “reindeer chow,” especially when some red and green M&M’s are added. The red ones are Rudolf noses and the green ones are for the Christmas trees.

 If you’re allergic to peanut butter or you simply prefer a different kind of nut butter, feel free to use almond butter, cashew butter or even sunflower seed butter in its place.