While making my instantly popular Christmas Puppy Chow, I vowed to experiment with colored powdered sugar for Valentine’s Day. Well, here it is foodie friends, Cupid Chow! The perfect dessert to enjoy after a heart shaped pizza.
Why You’ll Love This Cupid Chow Recipe
A Valentine’s Day version of your favorite tasty treat- what’s not to love?
- Make for any holiday season – You can change up the colors and candies to fit any holiday.
- Great edible gift – Perfect for taking into classroom parties or gifting your valentine, this sweet treat is easy to make and great for gifting. Add the puppy chow mix to cellophane bags or small plastic bags for easy gifting.
- No bake treat – Want something safe for the kids to help with in the kitchen? This is the perfect treat to get them involved. It’s fun for movie nights too for the whole family to enjoy!
Ingredients
You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this Cupid Chow recipe, all easily found at your local grocery store.
- Chex cereal – I like to use rice chex cereal, but you can use the generic brand and it should still work perfectly.
- Semi sweet chocolate chips – I like using chocolate chips, but you can also use chocolate melting wafers too.
- Smooth peanut butter – I usually say you can swap in crunchy peanut butter, but creamy peanut butter is really essential here.
- Butter – Using unsalted butter allows you to control the salt content in the recipe.
- Vanilla – While not necessary, vanilla extract adds a warmth to the flavor of this cupid’s crunch.
- Powdered sugar – This is what coats the melted chocolate mixture and gives it that classic powdery look.
- Powdered food coloring – I’ve found that gel or liquid food coloring doesn’t mix well with the powdered sugar.
- Valentine’s Day candy – This is optional, but conversation hearts or Valentine’s Day M&Ms are always fun to add!
Variations
Give this cupid chow recipe your own personal flair with these variations.
- Different holidays – Use reese’s pieces for a fall holiday or Christmas M&M for Christmas!
- Chocolate – Swap out the chocolate chips for dark chocolate or even white chocolate chips.
- Extract – Give the puppy chow some nutty flavor with almond extract.
- Cereal – Use a different variety of Chex or substitute Crispix.
- Fruit – Add dried cranberries, raisins, or dried apricots.
- Nuts – Toss in chopped walnuts, pecans, or peanuts.
- Marshmallows – Add mini marshmallows for a textural contrast.
- Cold– Try popping it in the fridge and munching on it cold.
- Cake mix – To make this delicious treat even better, try mixing some strawberry cake mix in with the powdered sugar.
- Topping – To take this muddy buddies recipe up a notch, try drizzling the top with red candy melts. You could drizzle with classic chocolate too.
- Add ins – In addition to the coated cereal, try adding things like mini pretzels or other pink candy.
How to Make Cupid Chow
You are going to love how easy it is to make this sweet snack mix!
- Add cereal to bowl. Measure cereal and place in a very large bowl. Set aside.
- Melt butter with chocolate and peanut butter. Over medium heat, melt and combine butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter, stirring constantly.
- Add vanilla. When fully melted, stir in vanilla.
- Add chocolate to cereal. Pour chocolate mixture over Chex cereal in three stages, folding as you go. Toss gently to coat all pieces.
- Dye powdered sugar. Place powdered sugar and powdered food coloring in a large, airtight plastic bag, shake to combine.
- Toss cereal in powdered sugar. Add Chex cereal in stages, tossing to cover and then removing to a wax paper lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Chill. Spread in a single layer and chill for an hour to set
Storage and Freezing
Cupid chow can be stored at room temperature. Keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dry space for up to one week.
How to Store Cupid Chow
Store this Valentine’s Day puppy chow recipe in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Can I Freeze Puppy Chow?
You can freeze puppy chow for up to 3 months. However, its texture may not remain the same after thawing.
More Valentine’s Day Dessert Recipes
Treat your valentine to something sweet! These Valentine’s Day recipes are super fun and festive.
Cupid Chow
Valentine’s Day Puppy Chow transforms a traditional muddy buddy recipe into a festive Cupid Crunch mix! The perfect no-bake dessert for any Valentine’s Day party.
Servings:
Ingredients
- 9 cups Chex cereal
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- .05-.10 ounces powdered food coloring
- Valentine’s Day candy , optional
Instructions
- Measure the cereal and place it in a very large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Over medium heat, melt the butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter, stirring constantly.
- When fully melted, stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over Chex cereal in 3 stages, folding as you go.
- Place powdered sugar and powdered food coloring in a large, airtight plastic bag, shake to combine. If you are using multiple colors, divide between 2-3 bags.
- Add the coated cereal in stages, tossing to cover and then removing to a wax paper lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Spread the coated cereal into a single layer and chill for an hour to set.
- Remove. Keep at room temperture or chilled.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Nutrition
Calories: 360 kcal, Carbohydrates: 66 g, Protein: 5 g, Fat: 10 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 11 mg, Sodium: 300 mg, Potassium: 256 mg, Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 29 g, Vitamin A: 620 IU, Vitamin C: 5.9 mg, Calcium: 109 mg, Iron: 15.2 mg
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see your recipes – snap a picture and mention @savoryexperiments or tag #savoryexperiments!
I’ve looked at a few of your puppy chow recipes and they all say “1/2 creamy peanut butter.” Is this half a cup? Half a jar? Thank you!
1/2 cup! Thanks for picking up on that- I just changed recipe cards and apparently there is a glitch. Fixing now 🙂
This is such a cute recipe!! I never even thought of coloring powdered sugar – that’s a great idea!
This is such a cute idea for Valentine’s day!! Looking forward to trying this out, thanks for sharing!
This puppy chow is perfect for Valentine’s Day. So cute!
My kids love puppy chow. I honestly never thought about changing it up for the holidays. This looks super fun and festive.
Oh wow! These are colorful and nice! What a treat for the pups!