Muddy Buddy Cookies

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Muddy Buddy Cookies Recipe – delicious sweet and salty muddy buddy cookies with chocolate, peanut butter, chex cereal and powdered sugar!

picture of muddy buddy cookies stacked on a wood cutting board
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Delicious and Easy Chocolate Muddy Buddy Cookies

Muddy buddies are delicious and simple cookies to make.

These are the perfect, no-bake, Chex cereal mix of crunchy, chocolatey, and peanut buttery goodness. 

Muddy buddy cookies using my recipe stay in perfect, irresistible clusters. 

This is the easiest recipe to make. I love no-bake cookies because they’re a great way to introduce kids to cooking and baking without the stress of dealing with too much heat.

People call these muddy buddies or puppy chow – I like to make them with my kids around the holidays and call them reindeer chow.

picture of muddy buddy cookies on a wood cutting board

How to Make Muddy Buddy Cookies

Muddy buddy cookies are super simple to make – but there are a couple of steps that are best to follow in order to be sure your cookies turn out perfect, every time!

  • Place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter into a medium microwave-safe bowl.
  • Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat. Keep microwaving and stirring at 15-second intervals until the mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla extract.
  • Measure cereal. Pour your cereal into a very large bowl. Pour 1/3 of the chocolate mixture over the cereal and stir. Repeat two more times until the cereal is evenly coated. 
  • Spoon dollops of the chocolate-cereal cookie mix onto parchment-lined trays. You can also use waxed paper to cool. I prefer to make these about two tablespoons-worth clusters (which will make them about two bites)
  • Place trays in the freezer for 30 minutes or the refrigerator for 2 hours to allow the cookies to harden.
  • Pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Working one at a time, set the cluster in the powdered sugar and either roll or spoon additional sugar over to coat it. Tap off excess sugar and place the cookie back on the sheet. Repeat with your remaining cookies. 
picture of muddy buddy cookies on a wood cutting board

Tips to Perfect Muddy Buddy Cookies & FAQs

I don’t let these sit at room temperature. I keep them in the refrigerator or freezer to keep the clusters together. I store them in an airtight container.

These get messy! That’s the fun of them, but be prepared. I like to keep napkins on hand.

Because of the powdered sugar, I like to make these with semi-sweet chocolate chips. I’ve noticed that the nicer the chocolate, the better they stay together in cookie-like clusters.

FAQs

Can I make muddy buddy cookies with white chocolate?

When I make them with white chocolate, they don’t cluster together as well, but they’re still delicious. If you do them with white chocolate, use a tablespoon less butter.

Can I make muddy buddy cookies with almond butter?

Absolutely, almond butter is a great alternative for those who are sensitive to peanuts. I love the flavor combo of chocolate and almond butter.

What kind of peanut butter do I use in muddy buddy cookies?

My recipe calls for creamy peanut butter, but if you want to use crunchy to get that extra crunch, add an extra teaspoon

Can I try another nut butter in muddy buddy cookies?

Sure! I tried them with sun butter to tuck them into my kids’ lunchboxes and they loved them!

picture of muddy buddy cookies on a wood cutting board

Other Easy Cookies You’ll Love

If you love these easy muddy buddy cookies, be sure to check out our other easy cookie recipes!

Some of our favorite cookie recipes include our Salted Caramel Butter Thumbprint Cookies Recipe, Easy Gingerbread Truffles Recipe, Easy Millionaire Shortbread Bites Recipe, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies, The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe, 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies, and some of our recent cookie recipes below:

You can find the rest of our cookie recipes here.

picture of muddy buddy cookies stacked on a wood cutting board

Muddy Buddy Cookies Recipe

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Muddy Buddy Cookies Recipe

Super simple fun muddy buddies are sweet little no-bake nutty packets that you will love!
Course Cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword easy cookies, no bake cookies, peanut butter, puppy chow
Prep Time 30 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 60 cookies
Calories 80kcal
Author Courtney O’Dell

Ingredients

  • 1 & ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into slices
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 8 cups rice chex cereal
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter into a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir. Microwave another 30 seconds, stir. Keep microwaving at 15-second intervals until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Place the cereal in a very large bowl. Add ? of the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Repeat 2 more times until the cereal is evenly coated.
  • In parchment-lined sheet trays, add 2 tablespoon-sized dollops of the cereal mixture, not touching onto the trays. I like to gently pack the cluster with the back of a spoon to make sure the cereal is sticking to itself. 
  • Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or the fridge for 2 hours so they can harden. 
  • Place the powdered sugar in a bowl. One at a time, place a cookie cluster in the powdered sugar and coat it. Tap off the excess and place the cookie back on the sheet tray. Repeat with the remaining cookies. 

Notes

These cookies need to be kept in the fridge or freezer. If they become room temperature, the clusters will not stick together as well.
Fair warning, these a TOTALLY messy, make sure you have a napkin or plate on hand to catch falling powdered sugar, but such a fun treat! You can make them as big or little as you like, but I keep them to 1-2 bites sized so they are easier to eat. 
You know when you make regular muddy buddies and there are those clusters that don’t always get separated when you are coating them in powdered sugar. These are those amazing clusters but in done internationally, my favorite part!
You can use any type of chocolate chips you want, I prefer semi-sweet since we use so much powdered sugar, the end result isn’t overly sweet. 
Make sure you use good-quality chocolate that melts easily.
You can use chunky peanut butter or even add chopped peanuts to the mixture or other nuts!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 18mg | Sugar: 5g

About Courtney

Courtney loves to share great wine, good food, and loves to explore far flung places- all while masting an everyday elegant and easy style at lifestyle blog Sweet C’s Designs. Sweet C's devoted to finding the best food and drinks you'll want to make or find, around the world!

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