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Well, we all survived Thanksgiving, right? I’ll assume that if you made your way back here, you were able to make it through the day. I hope it wasn’t too stressful for you and that you were really able to enjoy it without too much of a hiccup. It’s now the day after Thanksgiving, and if you haven’t started playing Christmas music and putting up your decorations, I’m sure it is near the front of your mind.

I, personally, am looking forward to putting Christmas decorations up soon, but I’m not quite in the mood. Thanksgiving snuck up on me pretty quickly this year, so the thought of Christmas being right around the corner is kind of odd. I think this weekend, we will be heading downtown to see all the lights and festivity. That is sure to get us in the Christmas spirit sooner or later, right?

On top of the lights, music, and all-around Christmas feel downtown, I need to bake some Christmas-y treats. Something minty, something gingerbread-y, something with cinnamon-y spices. It all needs to happen before I can really start to get in the mood for jingle bells and Santa Claus.

I love Puppy Chow (or Muddy Buddies, as you may know them). It’s just one of those things that you could have in front of you and just constantly nom on for about an hour without realizing what you’re doing. (No, that’s not very mindful eating… I highly recommend portioning out a serving size of this treat before sitting down with the whole bowl-full.) My point is that this stuff is just that aMAZing! I love crunchy snack foods. I also love dark chocolate. I also really like mint – more than peanut butter! So the twist on the classic Puppy Chow recipe is that I used a mint dark chocolate bar instead of semi-sweet chocolate. Also, with the powdered super, I was sure to add finely crunched candy canes. These changes were a welcome switcharoo to transition a ho-hum treat into a kicked-up, holiday, version of Puppy Chow.

Candy Cane Christmas Chow

Makes 4 cups
print friendly version 

Ingredients

3.5 oz Lindt Excellence Intense Mint Dark Chocolate Bar
½ cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
4 cups chex cereal (any variety: rice, corn, wheat, etc)
¾ cup powdered sugar
4 candy canes, crushed into a fine dust

Melt Lindt chocolate bar, chocolate chips, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 25 seconds at a time, stirring each time.

Once melted, coat Chex cereal with the melted chocolate.

Then cover with powdered sugar and candy cane dust.

This is one of those recipes I feel bad actually calling a recipe. It’s so simple to throw together, but it’s just so tasty. This treat would be great to have around while putting up the Christmas tree (while you’re sipping on one of these, of course). It would also be a great snack to have out at a holiday party or at the office to share with your co-workers.

Whoever you are sharing this with, it is bound to not last very long at all. It’s so good, and even more addicting!

What recipe do you like to adapt to winter-like flavors to make it more festive?

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