Root for your favorite NFL football team with this Cincinnati Bengals Puppy Chow! Gluten free rice Chex mix is covered in black and orange for a simple and fast game day snack recipe.
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Colored Puppy Chow
I love puppy chow, also called muddy buddies, for all the different flavors you can use. It brings me back to my childhood!Â
Candy melts cover rice Chex mix to make a fun, team spirit snack for game day. This Cincinnati Bengals Puppy Chow is incredibly easy to make and a great way to show some team NFL football pride to your party guests.Â
Colored Puppy Chow Ingredients
This is what you will need to make the puppy chow:
- Chex cereal (the plain cereal, not the flavored snack – any flavor/grain is fine but I like to use Rice because it is a light flavor and gluten free)
- Orange candy melts
- Black candy melts
- Powdered sugar
Candy melts are pretty sweet, but they provide the perfect color for colored puppy chow.
You can get orange candy melts and black candy melts for the Cincinnati Bengals Puppy Chow online or at your local craft store.Â
Can I use white chocolate and color it?
Candy melts are pretty sweet, but they provide the perfect color for colored puppy chow.Â
I do not recommend using white chocolate and trying to color it, because white chocolate does not melt very well and it takes a lot of coloring to make bold colors.Â
If these are too sweet on their own, you could mix them with something salty like little pretzels or peanuts. Get black candy melts here, and orange candy melts here. You can also find them at your local craft store.
How to Make Cincinnati Bengals Puppy Chow
Melt your candy melts according to package directions. This can be done in the microwave, but reduce the power. If it is too strong and too hot, the candy will not melt properly.
Then toss the cereal with the candy melts gently to coat.
Immediately place in a large resealable bag with powdered sugar and shake!
Now at some point in the process, you are probably going to think at least one of the following (if not all, like I did):
- There is NO WAY that little amount of candy melts will cover all this cereal!
- OH NO the cereal is BREAKING!
- WHY DO THEY ALL LOOK WHITE! I MESSED UP! I CAN’T SEE THE COLOR!
But it’s okay, all of the above are FINE. The candy melts DO cover that much cereal, just keep stirring.Â
The cereal might break a little but that’s okay! Just be gentle.Â
And the colors DO look pretty white when they come out of the bag. But shaking them in the fine mesh strainer gets rid of all that extra powdered sugar and you will see the color! Have faith!
Cincinnati Bengals Puppy Chow
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice Chex cereal divided
- 1/2 cup black candy melts
- 1/2 cup orange candy melts
- 1 cup powdered sugar divided
Instructions
- Place each color of candy melts in separate bowls that are large enough to mix the cereal in for each color (I like to use deep soup bowls).
- Place 1/3 cup powdered sugar in a quart or gallon sized resealable plastic bag.
- Melt the lightest color (orange) of candy melts in the microwave as per package directions. Stir frequently to encourage melting.
- When fully melted, immediately mix in 1 cup of the Chex mix. Gently toss with a spoon to fully coat.
- Immediately transfer the cereal to the plastic bag with the powdered sugar. Seal and shake. Gently massage the bag from the outside to encourage the cereal to separate, but gentle enough so they do not break.
- Pour the bag contents into a sieve (fine mesh strainer) over another bowl. Shake to remove excess sugar.
- Pour the cereal out on a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet to dry. If there are any pieces that were stuck together, you can pull them apart, dunk them into the discarded sugar, and shake again.
- Let the candy melts that was left behind in the bag dry for a few minutes, then you can crinkle up the bag to remove the candy melts and make it ready for the next color.
- Repeat the process with the black candy melts next, using 1 cup of Chex cereal and fresh powdered sugar. Let dry.
- Mix the colors together, or keep separate, and serve. The puppy chow can be stored in a container or bag for up to 2 days.
