Muddy Buddies

I always try to make something cute for coworkers and friends that you can make A LOT of for a not too much money, so no one feels left out   

This year, I found this great recipe on Pintrest that was WAY too easy. If you're looking for something to make for friends last minute like I was, I highly recommend muddy buddies! I think they have a lot of different names, but this is just what I'm going with. 

The recipe and original link is below, but here's the spark notes version of what I did.

Ingredients: 

• 1 box (12.8 oz.) (about 13 cups) Rice Chex, Corn Chex Wheat Chex or Chocolate Chex cereal (or combination)
  • Totally bought generic brand - soooo cheap!
• *2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• 6 tablespoons butter, cut into smaller pieces
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup Holiday M&M's
  • HIGHLY recommend Caramel M&M's! 

Here's the full recipe with instructions.

Like I said this was the easiest recipe, the worst part is it's VERY messy! The instructions say pour all the Chex into a bowl and coat in the chocolate/pb mixture - this is V importante! Do a little at a time, use smaller bowls and do it gradually. Split the box in half or even fourths and mix the chocolate coating mixture on the Chex that way. Make's a huge difference! (I learned this the second time around) 

I used Caramel M&M's instead of plain for my first batch, and I really liked the way those looked in the mason jars much better! They're bigger, so you don't get as many in them, but they don't get as hidden in the rest of the mixture as the smaller ones do.

I bought a 12 pack of mason jars from Walmart for about $8, and a couple spools of ribbon from the $1 section. As my muddy buddies cooled in the fridge (also makes a huge difference to let them sit in the fridge before packaging for like 15 minutes) I hot glued ribbons to the lids of the mason jars. 

Seriously, could not be easier! I made about 15 jars, decorations included in no more than 3 hours! 

Definitely doing this again next year, they were so cute, easy and delicious!