Peppermint Puppy Chow Recipe

A wooden spoon scoops peppermint puppy chow—powdered sugar-coated cereal and festive holiday candies—from a large bowl.

Whether you call it Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies, this delicious snack got a holiday makeover, peppermint style. Peppermint Puppy Chow is made with crunchy Chex cereal coated in Andes peppermints, powdered sugar, and candy canes!

This sweet treat didn’t take much work to test, or eat! Based off my classic puppy chow recipe, I swapped out the melted chocolate and added loads of festive peppermint flavor.

Large bowl of peppermint puppy chow Chex mix dusted with powdered sugar, surrounded by candy canes and a festive holiday napkin.

This recipe was originally published in November 2013. I updated the photos and recipe notes in December 2025.

Aimee’s Recipe Notes

Taste & Texture: Sweet and minty with a crunchy texture from the cereal and candy canes!

Ease to Make: Beginner friendly. Melt, mix, shake, and serve.

Melt Carefully: For best results use a double boiler. Or melt in the microwave, using 30 second intervals, to avoid burning.

Storage: Keep puppy chow in a ziploc gallon sized bag or airtight container.

I just made this and it is delicious…..my 7 yo granddaughter is going to love it.

-barb

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Ingredient Notes

Bowls of Chex cereal, white chocolate wafers, Andes chips, crushed candy canes, and powdered sugar on a white surface—perfect ingredients for making festive peppermint puppy chow.

For the complete recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for measurements.

Chex® cereal – Rice or corn varieties will work or do what I did and use a combination.
Vanilla candy coating – Ghirardelli white chocolate melting wafers are my favorite to use. They melt wonderfully and taste amazing. For a chocolate variation, substitute milk or dark chocolate candy coating.
Andes peppermint crunch baking chips – Substitute another peppermint baking chip, like Nestle’s peppermint chocolate morsels, if you can’t find the peppermint crunch ones.
Crushed candy canes – Make sure they’re peppermint flavored. Mini candy canes or Starlight hard peppermint candies can be substituted.
Powdered Sugar – Creates the snowy, sweet coating on puppy chow.

How to Make Peppermint Puppy Chow

Left: Pink melted mixture in a bowl. Right: Pink peppermint puppy chow mixture poured over Chex cereal in a white bowl with a spatula.

Make the Base:

Melt white chocolate with Andes peppermint morsels until smooth.
Toss with cereal and crushed candy canes.

Two bowls of peppermint puppy chow Chex mix—one being tossed with powdered sugar, the other finished and topped with festive sprinkles.

Add Powdered Sugar:

Add powdered sugar to bowl of cereal (or for an easier -cleaner- way, add cereal to ziploc gallon sized bag, add powdered sugar, and shake).
Serve with extra candy canes and enjoy! The candy canes don’t need to be fine crumbs. I like to have a few bigger pieces left to add in at the end for extra color. That little extra makes puppy chow LOOK at good as it tastes.

A bowl of peppermint puppy chow snack mix with crushed candy canes sits beside a larger bowl and whole candy canes, ready for a festive treat.

Easy Peppermint Treats

Love Peppermint? Be sure to bake up a batch of these soft and chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies this holiday season! Or give my peppermint cheesecakes a try next!
These thick and fudgy Peppermint Brownies are topped with a creamy peppermint frosting.
Chewy White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are a sweet treat that look so festive too.
Homemade Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer is so easy to make, and tastes better than store bought.

A wooden spoon scoops peppermint puppy chow—powdered sugar-coated cereal and festive holiday candies—from a large bowl.

Peppermint Puppy Chow Recipe

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Whether you call it Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies, this delicious snack got a holiday makeover!

Peppermint style.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Keyword chex mix, holiday, muddy buddies, peppermint, puppy chow

Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Servings cups

Calories 208kcal

Author Aimee

Ingredients

16 ounce Ghirardell White Chocolate Melting Wafers
1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
12 cups Chex cereal I use a combination of the rice and the corn flavors
2 cups powdered sugar
6 regular sized Peppermint Candy Canes crushed

Instructions

Place white chocolate and peppermint crunch baking chips in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 second intervals, mixing between each interval. Mine took 2 minutes total. Stir until smooth.
Place cereal in a very large bowl. Pour melted chocolate over cereal. Add about 3/4 of the crushed candy canes. Mix until all the cereal is covered in chocolate.
Add powdered sugar and stir until fully coated. Sprinkle with remaining peppermint candy canes.

Video

Notes

I love using Ghirardelli white chocolate melting wafers. They melt smooth and taste amazing. You could also use vanilla candy coating.
Making muddy buddies is a messy business! Expect to get at least a little (or a lot) of powdered sugar on you when tossing the cereal. Wear an apron and put a sheet of parchment paper under the mixing bowl to catch any stray sugar for easy clean-up.
The candy canes don’t need to be fine crumbs. I like to have a few bigger pieces left to add in at the end for extra color. That little extra makes puppy chow LOOK at good as it tastes.
Make sure to keep the bag or container sealed when you’re not eating the puppy chow. There’s nothing sadder than scooping up a handful of peppermint puppy chow to find out it’s gone stale.