Blast from the Past: Muddy Buddies

Do “Muddy Buddies” belong on a food blog? Or any recipe that you can find on the back of a cereal box for that matter? Heck yes. Why not? I want to say my brother and I ate these all the time when we were kids, but when you’re young you often exaggerate the frequency of things. The more likely story is that we ate them several times, but were totally psyched when we did. So … I’m bringing them back for you today! And because you (okay, I) don’t need 9 cups of these in my refrigerator (unless you have a huge family), I’m going to write the measurements for half a recipe, which is more than enough in my opinion. I made them on the stove top, because back when I was little we didn’t have a microwave yet! Aw, those were the days. Or in Japanese, Natsukashii!

Muddy Buddies/Puppy Chow (whatever you want to call it!)
(From the Chex® box, of course!)

4 1/2 cups Corn Chex® cereal
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used a coarsely chopped chocolate bar instead)
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) salted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup powered sugar

• Place the cereal in a large bowl. Set aside.

• In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) and peanut butter and stir until chocolate is almost melted. When almost melted, turn off the heat and continue stirring until mixture is smooth.

• Pour the chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the cereal and gently stir. Make sure cereal is evenly coated.

• Pour coated cereal into a 1 gallon zip-lock bag. Add the powdered sugar. Seal bag securely and shake well until cereal pieces are well coated.

• Spread on waxed paper or a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap to cool.

• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.