Puppy chow snack mix gets a festive twist with pumpkin spices and candy pumpkins.
Puppy chow—aka Muddy Buddies—is not dog food. No, no! Puppy chow is a snack mix… for humans.
Making pumpkin puppy chow could not be easier. It’s really just a few ingredients mixed together. No baking involved, no chilling involved. Less work, more eating.
With pumpkin puppy chow on my to-do list, I got a little excited when I spotted orange candy melts in the store last week. What are candy melts? They are a sugary little coating and wonderful for making cake pops and other dipped candies.
Here are a few of the ingredients I used to make my pumpkin spice puppy chow. I list substitutes below this photo if you cannot find these products.
Cinnamon Chex cereal:
The cinnamon flavored Chex cereal gives the puppy chow a stronger cinnamon-sugar flavor. It is the perfect base for this puppy chow. You may use Rice Chex, Crispex, or any plain rice cereal squares you can find.
Spices:
You need a few individual spices for this mix including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. This is a great place to use homemade pumpkin pie spice if you have it. See recipe Note.
Wilton orange candy melts:
Again, this isn’t chocolate. It’s a sugary melting coating. It’s sold online, in baking shops, Walmart, and craft stores like Michael’s. You need one 12-ounce bag. If you can’t find orange candy melts, use pure white chocolate instead like Baker’s or Ghirardelli—both are sold in all major grocery stores.
Mallowcreme pumpkins:
I love adding to this pumpkin spice puppy chow. You could use candy corn, Hershey’s Pumpkin Spice Kisses, Pumpkin Spice M&Ms or Candy Corn M&Ms, or some orange sprinkles. Any of these additions turn this sweet fall snack into a festive Halloween treat. Would be so fun served alongside these decorated Halloween cookies!
If you love pumpkin spiced goodies, you’re going to flip for this puppy chow. You’ll also enjoy these pumpkin snickerdoodles and pumpkin muffins—two favorites!
PrintPumpkin Spice Puppy Chow
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 cups
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sugary snack mix gets a festive twist with pumpkin spices and mellowcreme pumpkins. Be warned—this stuff is hard to resist! Recipe can easily be halved or doubled.
Ingredients
- 13.5 oz box (about 7–8 cups) Cinnamon Chex cereal, or Rice Chex
- 12 ounces orange candy melts or pure white chocolate
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice*
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1–2 cups mellowcreme pumpkins*
Instructions
- Pour the cereal into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In 20 second increments, melt the candy melts or white chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Stir after each increment until melted and completely smooth. Stir in 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, the nutmeg, cloves, and allspice until combined. Pour mixture over cereal and toss gently to coat each square. Be gentle, the squares break easily.
- Pour the confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon into a large zipped-top bag. Add the coated cereal and shake until each piece is coated. Pour back into a large bowl and discard excess confectioners’ sugar. Toss in the mellowcreme pumpkins. Use 1-2 cups, whatever amount you prefer.
- Cover and store puppy chow for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula | Large Zipped-Top Bag
- Spices: Instead of nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, you can use 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice. You could replace the cinnamon with pumpkin pie spice, too.
- Pumpkins: Instead of mellowcreme pumpkins, try adding 1 cup of Pumpkin Spice M&Ms or Candy Corn M&Ms, 1 cup of Pumpkin Spice Hershey’s Kisses, 1 cup of cinnamon chips, 1/2 cup of orange sprinkles, or even 1 cup of salty pumpkin seeds (which will cut the sweetness of the snack mix).
Keywords: pumpkin spice puppy chow