Brownie Batter Puppy Chow {or Muddy Buddies}

These delicious brownie-dough (or Muddy Buddies) snacks are a delicious treat!

While Brownies (or Muddy Buddies) may be a strange name for a delicious chocolate snack, even the best marketers can’t avoid the classic name for this popular and delicious snack.

If you’re not familiar with this (as my relatives were when I recently told them to “open the puppy food bowl and help themselves to a bowl”; the look on

their expressions were hilarious), the idea is straightforward.

The crispy rice cereal is covered in luxurious velvety ribbons of chocolate and peanut butter, and the whole thing is covered in a sweet layer of brownie batter. At least in this version.

If you google it enough, you’ll find that there are endless variations of puppy food/clay friends. But this puppy food is my favorite in the land of all favorite puppy food.

I first made it months and months ago when I packed 125 lunches in brown bags (don’t ask; it was a mess). We’ve been making these simple little treats a lot ever since.

Can we talk about brownie mix for a second? The recipe calls for the peanut butter and chocolate covered cereal to be topped with a bit more chocolate (of course).

I don’t usually keep brownie mix on hand, but this recipe made me seriously rethink that (side note: there’s a really easy substitute for brownie mix with cocoa powder and powdered sugar in the recipe notes below – I’ve used it a couple of times and it’s tasty, but brownie mix will give it a more defined brownie flavor, obviously).

I’ve used the Ghirardelli brand of brownie mix from Costco when making this brownie batter puppy chow recipe for a bunch of people, as I mentioned above.

The point is, make sure you choose a dry brownie mix with more chocolate flavor than cardboard flavor, okay?

This dog chow made with brownie batter is delicious, entertaining, and highly addictive—just so you don’t get upset with me when your kids never see the batch you made). while they were at school).

The salty addition of mini pretzels is the perfect compliment to the sweet nuggets of peanut butter and chocolate.

Even better, if well-covered, this keeps wonderfully for at least a week after it’s cooked. Naturally, I’ll start to really suspect your character if it lasts even half that long.

Brownie Butter Puppy Chow {or Muddy Buddies}

Yield: 16 cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 9 cups Rice Chex cereal (about 255 grams), which is half a family box
• 2 cups (340 g) semisweet or dark chocolate chips
• ½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter
• Pinch coarse kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups (213 g) dry brownie mix (see note for substitutions)
• 4 cups (about 113 g) mini pretzels

Instructions

1. Pour the cereal into a large bowl.
2. Mix the peanut butter and chocolate chips in a bowl that is safe to use in the microwave. Microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring between each, until the mixture is smooth and creamy (do not overheat). Stir in the salt.
3. Drizzle the chocolate mixture over the cereal and, using a flat rubber spatula (this works better than using a thick spoon, which tends to crush the cereal), mix until theCereal is coated equally with the heated mixture.
4. Toss in the chocolate-covered cereal after adding the dry brownie mix (you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your bag). Seal the bag and shake like your life depends on it until the cereal is coated with the dry mix.
5. Alternative method: I also spread half of the dry brownie mix into a large rectangular Tupperware, added the cereal mix, and then sprinkled the rest of the dry mix on top. I put a lid on the container and gently shake it back and forth until the cereal is coated. If there are any uncoated chunks when you open the container, stir everything around a couple of times with your hands. Discard any dry bits that are left at the bottom of the bag or container.
6. Let the mixture cool completely and add the pretzels.
7. This will keep well covered at room temperature for several days.

Note:

Brownie mix: I’m not an expert on brownie mixes because I usually make easy-to-eat brownies, but I like to keep some dry mix on hand for this recipe because it’s so delicious.
Alternative: I’ve run out of brownie mix once or twice though (yes, we make it a lot) and used a combination of whipped powdered sugar and cocoa powder (about 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar + 1/3 cup cocoa powder). You won’t get the same flavor as “brownie batter,” but it’s still delicious.