Muddy Buddy (Puppy Chow) Marshmallow Cereal Treats
Do teenagers still write notes, or exchange notes during school? Or has texting and social media totally replaced that? This has nothing to do with the recipe, but I was on my way home from the grocery store over the weekend when a John Cougar Mellencamp song came on the radio. His music (among countless others) always reminds me of high school, and suddenly I found myself down a rabbit hole thinking about high school… and I thought about passing notes. Sometimes my girlfriends and I sneakily passed them during class, but more often than not, one of us would write something, then pass it off between periods… during the next class I would respond, then pass it back, etc. And being 14 and getting a handwritten note from a guy? The absolute ultimate, am I right?
I still have shoeboxes of notes at my mom’s house that my girlfriends and I shared over the years. Texting and Facebook messaging and Tweeting is all easy and convenient and right in the moment, but you can’t package all those back-and-forth exchanges up in a shoe box and read them 15 years later. I might need to teach my future children the fine art of writing notes when the time comes.
Enough about my high school note-writing days… let’s talk about this outrageous recipe!
If you have teenagers, or kids of any age, I think they’d go bananas for this recipe (whether they write notes or not). I think you’ll like it, too :) I actually went into my pantry last week with the intention of making a knock-off of some Girl Scout cookies, and came out with all of the ingredients to make Muddy Buddies, plus some marshmallows. When I made my first batch of Muddy Buddies last fall, I polished off the entire thing myself in an embarrassingly short amount of time. I love Rice Krispie treats, and had made a s’mores version with Golden Grahams before, so I decided that a Muddy Buddy version with Rice Chex should be equally fabulous.
Fabulous, it was! These bars taste like ooey, gooey, marshmallow-y Muddy Buddy snacks. Chocolate, peanut butter, Rice Chex, marshmallows, and even a dusting of powdered sugar on top for good measure.
Whip up a batch of these and share them with your kid, and tell them about the good ol’ days when no one had cell phones and we had to handwrite notes to each other to communicate during the day. Bonding time!
One year ago: Blueberry Cheesecake Pie
Two years ago: Homemade Choco-Bliss Snack Cakes
Three years ago: Oil and Vinegar Coleslaw and Homemade Primanti Bros. Sandwich
Muddy Buddy Cereal Treats
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180 g) semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (129 g) creamy peanut butter
- 5 tablespoons salted butter
- 9½ cups (712.5 g) miniature marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 7 cups (189 g) Rice Chex cereal
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until completely melted and smooth.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the marshmallows. Continue stirring until the marshmallows are all melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and cereal, stirring to evenly coat. Immediately turn the mixture into the prepared pan, pressing it into an even layer.
- Dust the top with powdered sugar and allow to set at room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Cut into bars and serve. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This is delicious! I agree with previous poster about it being addictive. One box of Chex ceral would be fine but I used 3 c. Corn and 4 c. Rice. I also used 2 10 oz. bags of small marshmallows. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you for sharing!
Can anyone confirm if this is one box of Chex and one bag of mini marshmallows? Or do we need to buy more to make a 9×13 pan of treats?
Thanks!
I made two pans of these this weekend. They were very yummy – and I am not a rice krispy treat fan. I will definitely make them again! Needless to say, they are all gone.
This is destined to be my new favorite treat! Gotta love muddy buddies and marshmallows.
We passed notes sometimes in grade school. I hope kids still do that. Even now I’d much rather send and receive a hand written note than an email.
The kids at our Youth Night would love this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
These look delicious and I am looking forward to trying this recipe in the future. The recipe seems to be gluten free which is perfect for a celiac like me. Thanks so much for sharing.
When do you add the vanilla?
Hi Casey, In step #3 when you add in the cereal.
Update: Must tell you that I did, indeed, make these and take them to my parents. They were wonderful and enjoyed by all, especially my 5-year old niece, whom my folks were watching for the day. I dragged out the shopping bag (the big paper kind with corded handles) from my old closet and unfolded the triangle footballs one by one. I laughed, and cringed (lots of cringing…so embarrassing!) for a couple of hours. My niece was fascinated! A delicious and fun day. Thanks!
Aww, that’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing :)
My kids made these yesterday, already!
Everyone loved them! Thank you!
***We didn’t have enough Chex around and subbed in
some Rice Krispies for about 2 c. of Chex. Came out great anyways!
I had never thought about kids not passing notes in high school anymore. My friends and I did it so much we made up secret codes with eachother so that teachers or other students who found our notes couldn’t read them!
I just love your blog and reading your recipes! I am currently doing a call out for no-bake recipes on my recipe link party, The Yuck Stops Here and would love it if you would bring this recipe, your Cold Soba Noodle Salad, and any other no-bake recipes you love to the party! The party starts tonight (Tuesday) at 8pm ET and can be found on my blog, Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos. I hope to see you there! HUGS
Im in high school and we still do note passing! But now it’s much more popular to text. I personally think notes are better, my best friend and I always write notes to each other and sometimes ask people to pass it until it gets to one of us!
Passing notes was the best. My parents moved a number of years back and a had a box of them and dumped them. It’s okay….I still remember the rush I got in the hall getting one from a boy. I too am a teacher. Maybe I will bring it back. Write a uplifting thought on a folded note and pass it to a kid I think needs a lift……. You have given me an idea.
Muddy Buddies are my favorite! Thank you for this recipe! Can’t wait to try it. :-)
woah! I’m obsessed with puppy chow AND rice krispie treats, so these are calling my name! I need to make these asap!
Is it me, but I can’t find your “Rice Krispy Treats” archive.
It’s right here! https://www.browneyedbaker.com/category/recipes/snack-recipes/rice-krispies-treats-recipes/
Can you confirm…NINE 1/2 cups marshmallows? Seems like a lot…although based on photo I am seriously thinking I need to try…the child of puppy chow and rice krispy treats even if that 9 1/2 cups is correct!!! :)
Hi Tamara, Yes, that is correct! Makes them nice and ooey and gooey.
Thanks for verifying. Looks too good not to try and hey, I’ve got lots of marshmallows that need to be used to boot! :)
Oh wow these look SO good!!!
I hope they still pass notes…those were some good times!! :)
Wow, I’m so glad I’m not the only one that has a box of notes in my attic. I think that no matter which medium, teenagers will find ways to communicate to each other (without talking in class). The fact is, the note writing was really an art. There was always a slight competition to make the note entertaining. I don’t know if the teachers even realized how much was practiced and learned about writing prose in those notes – they may not have been so quick to confiscate them had they known. I can still laugh until I cry reading some of them. Yeah, there’s lots of spelling and grammar errors too, but content is pretty impressive.
Wow, does your blog bring back memories (start humming that Barbra Streisand music here!!!!) today. I may be the oldest person commenting so let me assure you I have an archival vault (liquor box, not the liquid) stashed in my closet of my own high school and college memories. Back in that day we wrote notes in higher academia as well. Not so many triangles (a few) but lots of torn scrap paper and souvenirs of days gone by, that still bring smiles. My college freshman daughter and her friends will never know the pleasure of going down memory lane, and I agree that this generation has sooooo missed out on social learning opportunities because of it. Also, you asked about the name puppy chow….well back in the day this was a new and updated version of the original chex mix that was sweet instead of savory, made with cocoa, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. Not a bar but a snack mix that looked like dog food “kibble and bits” and thus the name puppy chow. Your bars look super so will have to teach this old dog a new trick by trying them.
First of all, yum! Second, I loved passing notes in high school (and jr. high). My friends and I would just have a notebook that we would pass back and forth during passing period :)
OMG, these sound A-MA-ZING!!!!! I am definitely making these with my little guy after camp.
Oh my! I am pinning this for a weak moment. They would be a great little sweet treat to set out for guests too!
Oh hells yes!
These are so creative! I grew up loving Chex cereal, and I’ve never made muddy buddies. This looks like the perfect place to start!
Why are these called puppy chow??
The chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar-covered cereal snack goes by two names – Muddy Buddies and Puppy Chow. I have no idea where the names came from!
Very interesting!! I too wonder how they came up with Puppy Chow as the name for these bars :)
As a middle school and high school teacher I find students texting each other instead of passing notes, lame! These treats look fantastic! I love the combination of puppy chow and treats!
My best friend and I had a spiral notebook that we would pass back and forth. It was awesome. These look amazing. I don’t make muddy buddies too often because I will eat the entire batch. It’s dangerous. These look equally as dangerous. Lol
My friends and I did the notebook thing too! It was great. Our theory was that the teacher would notice as much if we were passing a notebook back and forth :)
Since today is such a gray, cool weather day in Pittsburgh, I am ready to bake (and do a meal in the oven for supper), and these Muddy Buddy treats might fit the bill. They look so tempting and delicious and addictive and . . . . everything good! Note passing in school was so much fun, and yes! how we folded them into those football triangles was a awesome. We used more of our tablets (which we received a new one every 6 weeks along with a #2 yellow pencil) for note PASSING than we did for note TAKING in class :D. This is such a warm memory . . . even “vintage” comes to mind with note passing. Wish I still had my notes . . .
Wow! You must be psychic! I just woke up a little while ago after having one of those semi-dreams about my bff from school and remembered the huge shopping bag filled with notes folded up into little triangles at my mom’s. I called her and asked if it was still there (it is, along with a long list of other things….nice chatting with you, mom, gotta go, love you!). Opened my email, and this! Wow. What to do on a rainy Monday? Make these treats for my parents and take trip down memory lane.
PS-one of the lessons I’m going to teach my high schoolers in the fall is how to write a proper note and fold it like a football!
Ahh, we folded them like triangle footballs, too! That’s how they’re all saved in the shoebox :)
I have a 16 year old son. Not only do they not pass notes, they don’t talk on the phone either. They text or if it’s boyfriend-girlfriend type relationship, they FaceTime. But that’s only if it’s a serious relationship. Sadly we are raising a generation without even rudimentary social skills.
I still have a ton of my notes, too! Though I have no idea what most of them mean. It’s so sad kids don’t do that anymore… But I’ll never forget when teachers would catch me and read my notes out loud. I guess they can’t do that on password protected phones!
Mmm these treats would make my Monday a little bit sweeter :)
I am also a teacher and the days of note passing are gone. Texting, twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, etc. show the world where you are and what you are doing 24/7 (I feel badly they can’t escape each other.) While I like technology, I would prefer a call or note on my birthday or during the holidays. A text or email during those occasions sort of makes me sad.
Since I am a teacher I can say the passing of the notes in class has gone away and texting and twitter other social media has taken over. It’s a rule that the student’s are not allowed to use their phone’s in school but it doesn’t stop them. I’ll take you up on the challenge. We’ll bake these and yes talk about the good old days.
At 61, I still have great memories of my best friend and I passing notes in high school, talking on the phone for hours at night and then exchanging the notes that we wrote after the phone chat in the morning. We are still best friends…she still lives in the city where we grew up and I live 7000 km away and we catch up every few years when I go “home” (and in the meanwhile we email and phone). High school is such a great time of your life!
The Muddy Buddies look yum but while I love pb on toast, I don’t like it in baking/slices. Might have to sub with something else.
Had my best friend since the age of three. She died at 63 and miss her so much.
I’m with you on the note passing. The same could be said for taking pictures and having them printed. There are a lot of people out there now days that never have pictures printed. As technology changes they will no longer have those pictures to look back on. I try to print pictures periodically so that I have those memories. There’s no technology needed to look at a printed picture, and you’ll have them forever, if you take care of them. My kids love pulling photos out and going through them almost every time they come home to visit. It’s a special time that seems to draw the entire family into it.
Looks delish but I’m confused. Is the cereal crushed ?
Step #3 says about mixing in the “crushed cereal”. These do look delicious!
Hi Marla, No, the cereal is not crushed, sorry that was a typo, it is fixed.