Holiday Cocoa Reindeer Chow

Some call this addicting sweet snack puppy chow while others call it muddy buddies. Whatever it goes by in your household, there’s something about this popular mix of treats that screams holidays to me. Maybe it’s because I grew up receiving bags of it from loved ones around this time of year?

I wasn’t really feeling baking holiday cookies, so I got the idea to make reindeer chow for Scott to take into his office this year.

It’s hot cocoa-fied with extra hints of cocoa chocolate, cocoa powder and marshmallows, so it’s bound to be a true crowd pleaser!

This recipe is inspired by a few different holiday muddy buddy concoctions I found online. I wanted to stay away from using butter, so I came up with what you see below, inspired and tweaked mostly from Your Cup of Cake!

Ingredients

6 cups chex cereal

1/2 cup dark cocoa melting chips (or regular chocolate chips)

1/2 cup white chocolate melting chips (or regular chips)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

2 cups mini pretzels

2/3 cup mini marshmallows

1/2 cup holiday M&Ms

1/2 cup mint M&Ms

Directions

1. Measure out cereal and set aside in a large bowl.

2. On the stove top over medium heat, melt cocoa chips, white chocolate chips, and peanut butter together. Stir until smooth.

3. Pour melted chocolate mixture into the large bowl of cereal, gently folding until it’s completely coated.

4. Dump the mixture into a big freezer bag (or tupperware with a lid), then fill with powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Shake away until the powder mixture covers all the squares!

5. Pour onto a cookie sheet and let cool (about 10 minutes).

6. Pour back into the (clean) large bowl, then add marshmallows, pretzels, and M&Ms!

This recipe can easily be doubled to gift your co-workers and friends.

Keep a lookout tomorrow for how I personalized my batch(es)!

Just in case you’re looking to gift or entertain a big crowd…

Here’s the double batch math, already figured out:

12 cups (1 box) chex cereal

1 cup dark cocoa melting chips (or regular chocolate chips)

1 cup white chocolate melting chips (or regular chips)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

4 Tbsp. cocoa powder

4 cups mini pretzels

1 and 1/3 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup holiday M&Ms

1 cup mint M&Ms

I’ve already hit my peak for sugar highs this week by sneaking (more than) a few handfuls of this reindeer muddy buddy goodness over the weekend.

Here’s hoping you enjoy it as much as I do!