The time of year has come when all of our lives become disturbed. No, I’m not talking about Daylight Savings Time – I’m referring to the recent onslaught of cookies. It’s not exactly a problem to be constantly surrounded by Girl Scout Cookies, but it can be challenging if you’re trying to get ready for an upcoming trip to Florida, or a wedding in a few months (ahemm). So when Ryan came home from work with a few boxes of Thin Mints, I knew I’d have to use them to bake something to share with others rather than hoarding them for ourselves. Because as you all know it is absolutely impossible to eat just one Thin Mint. So I threw one sleeve in the freezer for safe-keeping, and used the rest of one box to make this puppy chow OH MY GOD. Good thing most of this concoction went with Ryan to work on Monday, because if you find Thin Mints addicting as I do, this puppy chow recipe is absolutely irresistible.
I’ve actually never made puppy chow (or muddy buddies, whatever name you prefer) before. Shocking, I know. But when I’m looking to bake something for an event or a party, usually I try to make something a little different, and puppy chow can be overdone sometimes. No complaints, the stuff is amazing, but it’s just not something I’ve been drawn to make before. So when I saw this Thin Mint spin on Your Cup of Cake, I finally got my motivation to delve into puppy chow/muddy buddies territory. And now I totally understand why puppy chow is such a popular treat – soooo easy to make! For this recipe, instead of the classic peanut butter and chocolate combo, here we have a mixture of Thin Mint crumbs, white chocolate, semisweet chocolate, and some peppermint extract. Although it adds some extra steps, I love the combination of the two colors, and with St. Patty’s coming up it’s a perfect treat for any celebrations this weekend!
I chose to package up a few in treat bags for a cute presentation, or you can also do single servings by putting small batches in sturdy muffin or cupcake liners. Anything to help with portion control because if you let anyone hang around the big bowl too long, they’ll be gone before you know it! So whether you call them muddy buddies, puppy chow, or Thin Mint crack – I highly recommend throwing together a batch if you have far too many Girl Scout cookies around. It’s a great way to use up a sleeve or two and bring their deliciousness to a whole different level :) I hope you enjoy!!
Thin Mint Puppy Chow
Recipe adapted from Your Cup of Cake
Yield: 5 cups puppy chow
Ingredients:
for the mint chocolate puppy chow:
2-1/2 cups Rice Chex cereal
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate cihps
6 Thin Mint cookies, finely crushed
2 tbsp powdered sugar
for the white chocolate mint puppy chow:
2-1/2 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 tsp peppermint extract
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
Oil-based green food coloring (I used these)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
6 Thin Mints, roughly chopped
Directions:
for the mint chocolate puppy chow:
- Measure out cereal and set aside.
- In a food processor or blender, process the Thin Mints until finely crushed. Set aside.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate in 30 second intervals until melted completely and smooth. Pour over cereal and stir until cereal is evenly coated. Pour in cookie crumbs and stir again.
- Transfer mixture to a plastic bag, add powdered sugar, and shake until everything is evenly distributed. Pour mixture out onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet to let chocolate set.
for the white chocolate mint puppy chow:
- Measure out cereal and place in a large bowl. Pour peppermint extract over cereal and use a spatula to mix everything together.
- Place white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt in 30 second intervals in the microwave until completely smooth. Stir in oil-based food coloring as desired (make sure it's oil-based/candy food coloring, regular water-based kinds will cause the chocolate to seize!)
- Pour melted chocolate over cereal and mix until well coated. Transfer to a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and let chocolate set.
- Once both mixtures are set, chop up the extra thin mints and combine everything in one large bowl.
I love your blog – you make it personal and fun! This recipe looks great and I’m really hoping I can get my hands on a box of thin mints before Sunday!
not the biggest fan of mint, but I might try this with a spin
Looks yummy ~ for humans ~ but I’m uncomfortable with the name! My first reaction was that it was a treat for dogs, which would be poisonous to them as dogs should not eat chocolate. Am concerned that someone may not know that and jump the gun, giving it to their puppies & dogs.
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Wow i will have to put this on the “christmas make list as well”. I am from australia but their is a shop here that sells the chex rice things and i am ordering a few boxes in everyone will love this i may even make double for my kids, hubby and myself lol