Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies or Muddy Munch is the perfect snack for parties, hang outs, sweet addition to a sack lunch, or even for a delicious cookie box filler! Unfortunately, most recipes for puppy chow are made with peanut butter, myself and so many people are allergic to peanuts and other nut butters. So, I used my own personal favorite butter for this recipe, cookie butter!
I personally love this snack (really dessert) as a treat for gatherings. But it really is great for movie snacking. Place it in a big bowl with a spoon for serving, small bowls for individual servings. You could even make a station with this puppy chow and add little bowls for add-ins like chocolate chips, sprinkles, extra Biscoff cookies, candies, etc. so everyone can customize their own bowls.
Now, muddy buddies are usually gluten free because of the fact that you use a nut butter and Chex (rice or corn), which makes it gluten free. However, Cookie Butter is made with cookies and gluten is found in this. You could make your own gluten-free version of cookie butter for this if you wish or you could swap out for a nut butter. The flavors of course will be changed.
Table of Contents
What is cookie butter?
Cookie butter is basically a spreadable speculoos cookie. Speculoos are spiced cookies from the Netherlands and Belgium. They are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and other wintery flavors. The actual cookie butter is ground up speculoos cookies with butter, and of course extra sugar (some recipes of course have extra ingredients).
Cookie butter is the name you can find at Trader Joe’s. But you can also find Speculoos spreads in other stores and brands. One very similar is Biscoff’s Cookie Butter. This is usually eaten on a snack board for dipping, used for recipes, or you know…eating by itself.
Puppy Chow Recipe
Like I said above, most Puppy Chow recipes are made with peanut butter (or alternative). But they are also made with Chex cereal (rice or corn), chocolate, vanilla, butter, powdered sugar. I’ve made a version with chocolate that doesn’t include peanut butter: Puppy Chow without Nuts. This recipe though is made with Cookie Butter instead and no chocolate.
Puppy Chow with Biscoff Spread
So, because this recipe is made with Speculoos spread I decided to keep it true to the flavors of that instead of adding in chocolate. I went with a browned butter for this recipe too to add a bit of extra flavor. We have browned butter, cookie butter, Chex (rice version), vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. It’s quite simple, but so flavorful. Also, a great recipe for those who don’t consider themselves a baker.
How to Brown Butter
Using a small saucepan, add your butter, and turn the burner onto a medium heat. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, occasionally stir the butter until it completely melts. This will take a few minutes. Then stir pretty consistently as the butter slowly starts to brown. You’ll see little brown flecks start to form on the bottom of the pan. You’ll scrape those up and just keep stirring. The butter will be brown with plenty of flecks, but not burning. The whole process should take about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Can You Store Puppy Chow?
Yes, you can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for about 1-2 weeks. If you need, you can also add a little extra powdered sugar to them, shake it in the container, and serve.
Trader Joes Muddy Buddies Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- cookie butter
- vanilla extract
- kosher salt
- rice Chex
- powdered sugar
- sprinkles, optional
Muddy Buddy Instructions
- In a small pan brown your butter. You’ll do this by melting down the butter for 5-10 minutes. Stir fairly consistently. You’ll see little brown flecks begins to form on the bottom of the pan, scrape those up. Keep stirring.
- Add in cookie butter and mix until melted down. Add in vanilla and salt and mix.
- Pour Chex cereal into a large, heat resistant bowl (metal or glass). Pour the cookie butter mixture on top of the Chex and stir with a large spoon.
- Add in the powdered sugar and mix until coated. I like to move this mixture into a very large Tupperware, add any remaining powdered sugar (or extra), and shake to fully coat. You can always add more powdered sugar than called for to get the coating even whiter. Now you can add sprinkles if you’d like.
- You can leave in the Tupperware or pour mixture out onto a parchment sheet lined baking sheet to let cool and dry.
- Pour into a bowl for serving and enjoy!
Recipes for a Cookie Box
This Cookie Butter Puppy Chow was originally made for this Holiday Cookie Box I put together in collaboration with Lauren Conrad Co. I wanted a good mix of cookies and treats. You can of course add in store-bought baked goods too if you don’t like baking or have a LOT of boxes to make. Below you’ll find some of my favorite recipes for this cookie box.
FAQs on Nut-Free Puppy Chow
Yes, you'll need gluten-free cookie butter, which you can google and find fairly easily.
Yes, of course. It will then not be the same cookie butter puppy chow and the flavors will change. But the texture/end result will be similar for looks, etc.
Other Recipes to Try
- Chocolate Crinkle Whoopie Pies with Peppermint Buttercream Filling
- Gooey Butter Cake Crinkle Cookies
- Molasses Crinkle Cookies
- Brown Butter Rice Krispies
- Cookie Butter Puppy Chow
- Peppermint Meringues Candies
- Christmas Tree Meringue Candies
Love this Recipe?
Did you make this recipe and just love it? Awesome! If you have a quick minute and could leave a star rating and comment below, I would appreciate the support and knowing your feedback! And if you’re over on Instagram, be sure to tag me in your photos!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cup cookie butter 14 oz jar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 box rice Chex about 9 cups (12 oz)
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted, may need up to ½ cup more to fully coat
- ¼ cup sprinkles optional
Instructions
- In a small pan brown your butter. You’ll do this by melting down the butter for 5-10 minutes. Stir fairly consistently. You’ll see little brown flecks begins to form on the bottom of the pan, scrape those up. Keep stirring.
- Add in cookie butter and mix until melted down. Add in vanilla and salt and mix.
- Pour Chex cereal into a large, heat resistant bowl (metal or glass). Pour the cookie butter mixture on top of the Chex and stir with a large spoon.
- Add in the powdered sugar and mix until coated. I like to move this mixture into a very large Tupperware, add any remaining powdered sugar (or extra), and shake to fully coat. You can always add more powdered sugar than called for to get the coating even whiter. Now you can add sprinkles if you’d like.
- You can leave in the Tupperware or pour mixture out onto a parchment sheet lined baking sheet to let cool and dry.
- Pour into a bowl for serving and enjoy!
Notes
- Cookie Butter: this recipe is made with cookie butter. You definitely can use a nut or sunflower seed butter if you prefer. But the delicious flavors definitely come from the brown butter and butters.
- Browning Butter: Melt the butter until completely melted. Then keep stirring as the butter browns…from melted, to dark golden, to a brown and nutty fragranced mixture. This usually takes about 4-6 minutes. You don’t want it to burn, so keep a close eye on it. Remove from heat and let cool, I usually like to stick it in the fridge for just 4-6 minutes.
- Using unsalted butter: You can use salted butter, but just make sure to omit the added salt later. You usually want to use unsalted butter when baking or cooking as you'll have an easier time measuring and controlling salt content.
Heather says
Delicious, but my butter/cookie butter/kosher salt mixture seized up when I added the vanilla. Any idea what I did wrong? Tastes great still but was kind of difficult to spread.
Amanda Wilens says
The only thing I can think of is that something may have been drastically different in temps or expired. Never experienced that one. So sorry!
Julia says
My youngest has never experienced Puppy Chow due to a peanut allergy. He is headed home from college and will love his own Puppy Chow! I did add a teaspoon of expresso powder just to cut some of the sweetness, next time I might mix some in the powder sugar. Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
Amanda Wilens says
Aw! So glad to hear that. As a person with allergies, I love hearing that.
Debbie says
My kid can't have nuts, so we're always looking for a new recipe for him. This was such an easy recipe and I kept eat these myself. Oops! hah
wilensamanda says
I can relate! So hard getting around nuts in certain recipes. So glad you like this recipe!