Reindeer Chow (Straightforward No-Bake Deal with)

Reindeer chow is an irresistible combine of Chex cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, and your favourite candies, good for the vacation season.

I bake so many Christmas cookies between Thanksgiving and December 24 that I actually love having some go-to no-bake treats to throw into the combination, too.

Typically it’s simply good to not must activate the oven, ya know?

My rum balls are all the time on the menu, and so are buckeyes and oreo truffles. And my youngsters love serving to me making this festive reindeer chow recipe!

What’s reindeer chow?

If you happen to’ve ever had pet chow, then you definitely’ve just about had reindeer chow.

There are a pair totally different variations of reindeer chow (typically referred to as reindeer meals) on the market; one in every of them coats the combination in white chocolate, and the opposite is a twist on pet chow.

My household’s favourite model of reindeer chow is pet chow—a mixture of Chex cereal coated in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar—with some further mix-ins to make it much more festive.

Crimson and inexperienced M&Ms are the most typical additions to reindeer chow, however pretzels, peanuts, and mini peanut butter cups are additionally common.

This snack combine is all the time successful at vacation events and is nice for gifting, too. Package deal it up in some festive tins and it’s an ideal reward for neighbors. It’s additionally a straightforward snack to make on snow days or for cozy nights watching Christmas films.

Plus, since this can be a no-bake recipe that makes use of the microwave, it’s an awesome deal with to make with youngsters! My ladies particularly all the time love serving to to shake the reindeer chow up within the powdered sugar.

Tips on how to make reindeer chow

Reindeer chow goes to be your new go-to straightforward Christmas deal with.

Begin by prepping a baking sheet with parchment paper. Not like ranch chex combine or ranch crackers, this isn’t going within the oven; the sheet pan is simply to let the combination cool later.

Add the cereal to a really massive mixing bowl; set this apart.

Add the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and salted butter to a big, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on 50% energy for 1 minute and stir.

Maintain microwaving on 50% energy in 30-second increments, stirring after every, till the combination is clean.

Stir within the vanilla, then pour this combination over the cereal. Stir till the cereal is nicely coated within the melted chocolate combination.

Add the coated cereal to a 2-gallon zip-top bag. If you happen to solely have 1-gallon luggage, do that in 2 batches or divide the whole lot between 2 luggage.

Add the powdered sugar to the bag and seal tightly. Now for the half my ladies love! Shake it up till the cereal is nicely coated within the powdered sugar.

Unfold the combination onto the lined baking sheet. There’ll in all probability be some clumps of cereal; you may break these aside or depart them.

Let the combination cool utterly. Now you may add within the mix-ins. Our favorites are salted peanuts, crimson and inexperienced M&Ms, mini pretzels (we like twists however pretzel sticks additionally work), and mini peanut butter cups.

Recipe variations & substitutions

The model of this recipe as written within the recipe card is my household’s favourite, however there are many methods to make this reindeer chow your personal.

• Allergic to peanuts? Swap the peanut butter for almond butter or SunButter. If doing this, ensure to omit the peanuts and omit or swap out the peanut butter cups, too.
• Use corn chex instead of rice chex, or use a mixture of the 2.
• For a completely gluten-free model, ensure to make use of gluten-free pretzels and examine that your different substances are licensed gluten-free, too.
• Change out the vacation M&Ms for various colours to theme this combine for various seasons and events.
• Omit the peanuts and swap the common M&Ms for peanut M&Ms.
• As a substitute of mini peanut butter cups, attempt utilizing different mini unwrapped sweet bars, corresponding to KitKats or Snickers.

If you happen to love reindeer chow, you’d additionally like strawberry chex combine for a fruity model!