Valentine's Day Puppy Chow
Valentine’s Day Puppy Chow is a quick, no bake party mix made with Rice Chex cereal coated in a warm chocolate peanut butter mixture, tossed in powdered sugar, and mixed with Valentine’s M&M’s and Rolo Pretzels. It is crunchy, sweet, and perfectly festive for gifting or snacking.
Ingredients
- 6 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tbsp crushed freeze dried strawberry powder Blend freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder; adjust amount for desired pink color
- 1-2 cups Valentine's day M&Ms or your favorite Valentine's Day candy
- 1 batch, about 24, Valentine's Day Rolo Pretzels or your favorite Valentine's day treat
Optional Mix-ins
- extra mini pretzels you can also added chocolate coated pretzels
- extra freeze dried strawberries or raspberries
Instructions
- Crush your freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder. You can use a bullet blender, or put them in a zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin (the bullet blender method is much easier!)
- In a large zip-top bag, combine 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 2–4 tablespoons strawberry powder. Shake or whisk to fully blend.You'll probably want to divide the mixture into 2–3 batches, because not all the puppy chow will fit in one bag an once.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until smooth (1–1 1/2 minutes total).
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the warm chocolate–peanut butter mixture over the Rice Chex. Gently fold with a spatula until every piece is evenly coated.
- Transfer a portion of the coated cereal into the zip-top bag with the strawberry powdered sugar mixture. Seal well.
- Shake vigorously until the cereal turns pink and no glossy chocolate spots remain. Repeat with remaining cereal, adding more powdered sugar or strawberry powder if needed for coverage or deeper color.
- Spread the coated cereal onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let cool for 15–20 minutes so the coating firms up and the mix-ins won’t smear.
- Once cool, pour the puppy chow into a large serving bowl. Fold in the Valentine’s Day M&Ms, Rolo Pretzels, and any additional mix-ins such as pretzels or freeze-dried strawberry pieces. Stir gently to avoid crushing the cereal.