A few weeks ago, my husband took my 2 oldest children for a quick trip down to St. George to see his grandpa and to play! That means I was alone with our 3 youngest for the weekend- a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a 9 month old. Without my 2 bigger helpers and being stuck inside, you definitely have to be a little creative with the younger crowd! We did a lot of fun things, like eat pizza and dirt cake cookies (chocolate frosted cookies with crushed oreos and gummy worms), grocery shopping for fun snacks, and watching Winne-the-Pooh. I also know they LOVE helping me in the kitchen, and we definitely needed some fun things to do, so I thought it would be great to make a fun treat together! It can be hard to find stuff to make with toddlers in the kitchen, but we found the perfect recipe to satisfy our cravings, have fun in the kitchen, and was totally doable for the little ones.

Muddy Buddies! Such a simple, yet popular snack! And there are SO many variations out there! Whether you’re a fan of unique varieties or just the basic chocolate peanut butter recipe, you just can’t go wrong! It’s actually been awhile since I made the good ol’ regular muddy buddies- and it definitely did not disappoint!

Growing up, we always referred to muddy buddies as puppy chow. My mom would put some in small bowls for us, and being the awesome mom that she is, she would indulge in our imaginative play and let us eat as “puppies” while we ate our “puppy chow”- we would eat straight out of our bowls like a puppy would, including crawling up to our bowls which were placed on the ground- bless my mom’s heart! We LOVED getting to pretend to be puppies, and I love that my mom let us enjoy those memories instead of being concerned about the mess. I always just thought we called it puppy chow because we liked to pretend to be puppies- but then I grew up and realized that other adults call it puppy chow too! Apparently it’s because the chunks of chocolate and chex look a little like dog food, and the cereal Chex was actually created by Purina- the animal food company! So essentially Chex was “human chow” and one thing led to another and some people started calling this tasty treat puppy chow!

This is the perfect recipe to make with younger kids.

First, there’s no baking or stove required- which is definitely a plus considering my 2 year old has a strong will and mind of his own, and it’s best to avoid anything with heat in general- we definitely don’t need any burns!

Second, there’s no baking or chill time required! If you don’t know the patience threshold of a 4 year old and 2 year old, I’ll tell you- it’s nonexistent ;). Having something that can be eaten right away is definitely ideal! Nothing can seem longer to a 4 year old than having to wait 30 minutes for brownies to bake after working so hard on mixing them!

Third, you get to shake a big bag of chex and sugar at the end! The look of pure joy on my 2 year old’s face as he helped shake the bag was everything I needed that day! Such a fun way to get the kids involved.

And lastly- muddy buddies (or puppy chow) is just super delicious, am I right??? I’m partial to frozen muddy buddies especially. The cold brings out the flavor even more, and they get a little extra crunchy- definitely the only way to enjoy them, in my opinion! They’re perfect for snacking while watching a movie, reading a book, or just while sitting around the table.

You can just use the recipe on the back of the Chex box, but I personally don’t think they use enough of the good stuff, and then you’re left with like 2 cups of Chex leftover… why not use the whole box? So here is the adapted recipe my family uses:



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Are you a fan of puppy chow? And does your family call it that? I’d love to hear in the comments below!