This Puppy Chow tastes like your favorite Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies! With the classic powdered sugar coating and a chocolate mint twist, Thin Mint Puppy Chow will satisfy your Girl Scout cookie cravings all year long.
Do you call these treats “puppy chow” or “muddy buddies”? I’ve loved Puppy Chow for almost as long as I’ve loved Thin Mints. This recipe takes both comfort foods and combines them into one. For more flavors, try our cherry puppy chow next!
The Best Puppy Chow
Don’t worry–no thin mint cookies were harmed in the making of this recipe!
After snacking on several (okay, maybe several DOZEN) handfuls of Thin Mint Puppy Chow, I think I’m ready to declare that I like it even more than the original version.
- The minty chocolate adds the perfect balance to all the sweetness from the powdered sugar.
- I love the color of green M&Ms against the white sugar coated chex cereal too!
- Did I mention this recipe happens to be Gluten Free? If you can’t have gluten and have been missing your Thin Mints fix, this recipe is a great alternative.
Crunchy cereal + chocolate + mint = a sweet snack that tastes JUST like the Girl Scout cookies. You should always have some easy dessert recipes up your sleeve! We’ve got plenty of no bake desserts to choose from too!
Ingredient Notes
Along with the familiar puppy chow players of rice Chex squares and powdered sugar, you need these ingredients to make Thin Mint Puppy Chow.
- Mint flavored chocolate – chop up some Andes mint candy for today’s recipe, or use the Andes baking bits if you can find them!
- Regular chocolate melting wafers – Ghirardelli are my favorite!
- Mint M&M Candies
Easy Instructions
- Melt the chocolate
Start by melting the regular chocolate wafers with the Andes mints in the microwave. I stirred after every 30 seconds and continued heating for a total of about 2 minutes (until the chocolate is smooth and combined).
2. Mix with cereal
Toss the cereal with the melted chocolate. Transfer to a large plastic bag, then add the powdered sugar and shake until all the cereal is well coated.
3. Set & Serve
Pour the puppy chow onto a baking sheet and let it sit until the chocolate is set (no longer melty). Combine the M&Ms with the puppy chow and serve in bowls or transfer to a container for storing.
Tips & Tricks
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper. Before transfering the chocolate and powdered sugar covered concoction to the sheet to set, line the baking pan with parchment paper. This makes clean up so much easier and keeps the cereal from sticking.
- Use good quality chocolate. The chocolate is the prominent flavor in this recipe, so use a chocolate you’d enjoy eating on its own. I love Andes Mint Chocolate bars and Ghirardelli melting wafers to make puppy chow.
- Storing: I keep my puppy chow in an airtight tupperware container or a ziploc plastic bag. It’ll keep well for a week or two, but mine always disappears within a day or two. My family can’t get enough.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use Crispix or Corn chex cereals instead of rice chex in this recipe.
There’s no difference between muddy buddies and puppy chow! While I believe the name “muddy buddy” was the name of the recipe on the Chex cereal box and “puppy chow” was on the Kellog’s Crispix box first, the names are now used interchangeably.
I do not recommend freezing puppy chow. The cereal will become mushy and the texture and flavor will suffer. Thankfully, puppy chow is super quick and easy enough to make anytime you have a craving.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
Thin Mint Puppy Chow
No Thin Mints are actually harmed in making this recipe! However, this Puppy Chow tastes like your favorite Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies!
Ingredients
- 16 ounce Ghirardelli chocolate wafers
- ½ cup chopped Andes mint candy (or Andes baking bits)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 10 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 bag (8 ounce) Mint m&m candies
Instructions
- In microwave, melt chocolate wafers with mint candy together for one minute, stir and continue melting in 30 second intervals until smooth (mine took a total of 2 minutes).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cereal with melted chocolate. Fold with a large wooden spoon until all cereal is coated.
- In a large, gallon sized ziploc bag, add powdered sugar. Spoon in chocolate cereal mixture. Seal bag and shake until powdered sugar is coating all the cereal completely. Pour onto a large piece of wax paper and allow chocolate to set (about 20 minutes). Combine candies with chex and store in an airtight container. ENJOY!
Notes
- Store puppy chow in airtight container for up to two weeks.
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 528Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 254mgCarbohydrates: 85gFiber: 4gSugar: 56gProtein: 5g
*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.
Everything you love about Thin Mints mixed into muddy buddies! Make this Thin Mint Puppy Chow and you’ll be amazed by how much it tastes like your favorite Girl Scout cookie!
Oh Yum! What a fun twist on the OG muddy buddies (I’ve always called them muddy buddies, btw!).
This puppy chow is downright addicting! I am obsessed! Will totally be making this again for St Patrick’s Day!!
Hi! Just made this and it was amazing!! Thank you for posting this! I’m GF and haven’t had a thin mint cookie in years in this truly tastes just like them!!!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Thank you for posting this!!! I have been looking for a puppy chow recipe for years!! Made this one year in middle school and loved it!! So many different combinations to make!! Thanks again!!
Enjoy Beth 🙂
I want to try this with Andes Mint chips. I have a peanut allergy so I can’t have most chocolate barks and such. I think I will try it with Corn Chex too because I like them better than rice 🙂 This might be a nice substitute to actual Thin Mints since I also can’t have gluten.
Let me know how it turns out 🙂
My son has a peanut allergy too. We use WOW butter in our house. It tastes almost exactly like PB 🙂
Oh! I have only every known it as puppy chow! Muddy buddies threw me off the first time I’d read it. I am excited to try this version. There’s a chai version out there I need to take a crack at as well. Just need a milk free version of that one. To people asking about shelf life….I have been making it for ever. I don’t know a shelf life. It doesn’t last longer than a few days, tops. Leftovers? HA!
Chai would be lovely!!! Yes mine doesn’t last long either 🙂
What Kind Of Shelf Life Does It Have After These Are Made? Can You Freeze Or store in Bags Room Temp For Months?
Actually..The Muddy Buddy recipe appeared on the back of the Chex box in the early 80’s….the recipe using Crispix was the one they called puppy chow. Either way, they’re both delicious (but I do believe Muddy Buddy’s were first on the scene…lol).
The original puppy chow recipe or muddie buddies recipe calls for kellogs crispix cereal not rice chex. I have been making it for almost 20 years. It is so much better with the crispix. Just sayin.
Hello— Dying to try this— I have Andes Creme de menthe baking chips- anyone used this with just chocolate chips? Can I use those chips and regular chocolate chips?
Thank you!
I haven’t used them yet, but if you try it let me know how it turns out!
I just made this, my store does not carry the chocolate you recommend so I used Andes mint instead and used some peanut butter (I didn’t see the recipe on the bottom so I made it as if it was regular puppy chow but with the mint chocolate instead) came out awesome! Next time I make it I will follow the direction better 🙂 I’m a rookie stay at home mom. Thanks for this.
Love puppy chow and thin mints are my favorite cookies but what is a 3.5 Green and black chocolate bar. I’m trying to picture candy bars and this one is not there can anyone help by telling me what to look for as I have several boxes of chex cereal.
If you click the link above in the recipe, you can see what green&blacks chocolate bars are. I find them in the organic section of my grocery store. You could find a ghirardelli mint bar, or andes mints (3.5oz)
I don’t know how, but this stuff tastes exactly like a thin mint. It’s become my crack! I made my first batch last week and still have some leftover (shocking, I know!), but I nibble a little each time I walk by my kitchen counter. Just threw together another batch for a birthday party tomorrow and plan on making another for my book club meeting. Having recently gone gluten free, this is a treat I can still enjoy, and enjoy it I do! Now, which way to the treadmill?!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! We love it!!! Thanks for letting me know you tried it, and love it too!
I’ve never heard of puppy chow, but this looks divine! My poor kidlets have been down with that monster cold going around, so I’m running out to get the ingredients for this. We’ll make treats, and then curl up and watch movies together while eating them. Thank you so much!
I never comment but I just made this! It was soooooo good!
So glad you commented and even happier you enjoyed the recipe!!
Oh, how super cute for St. Patty’s day!! You are goooood!
So perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! We would love to have you link it up at our Wednesday Link Party, we are giving away a Le Creuset French Oven!