Easy Muddy Buddy Cookies Recipe
These Muddy Buddy Cookies begin with a perfectly soft peanut butter cookie made from a cake mix and are then coated with an easy homemade chocolate ganache and topped with Muddy Muddy cereal for plenty of crunch and flavor. These delicious cookies are about to be your new favorite treat!
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We love these Muddy Buddy cookies around my house – they’re crunchy on top, soft on the bottom, and bursting with chocolate and peanut butter flavors. What’s not to love?
If you’ve never heard of Muddy Buddies before, this is a snack mix made from Chex cereal, chocolate, peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar. Traditionally it was a homemade treat like a super sweet and chocolatey Chex mix, but it became so popular that Chex began making their own!
Now you can buy Muddy Buddy cereal right at your local grocery store. It still has all the same flavors of the classic homemade recipe, but now it’s even more convenient!
These will soon become your favorite cookies because the chewy cookies are full of delicious peanut butter flavor, coated in melted chocolate, and have crunchy Muddy Buddy snack mix right on top. Cookie lovers rejoice! You can also try these Reese’s Cookies.
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Tips & tricks to achieve the most delicious cookies of your life!
What goes into this Recipe
- Yellow Cake Mix: By beginning the cookies with a cake mix, we get to skip all the extra steps like measuring out all purpose flour and mixing wet ingredients and dry ingredients. You can also use a different flavor of cake mix if you prefer.
- Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter will flavor the chewy peanut butter cookies.
- Butter: Melted butter will make the perfect cookie when mixed with the yellow cake mix. Use unsalted butter since peanut butter already has salt.
- Milk Chocolate Chips: These will be combined with heavy cream and melted to make an easy chocolate ganache. You can also use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer.
- Heavy Cream: This will keep the chocolate ganache creamy and smooth.
- Muddy Buddy Cereal: Skip making homemade muddy buddy pieces (also known as “puppy chow”) and buy the cereal at your local grocery store.
How to make Muddy Buddy Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the cake mix, peanut butter, cooled melted butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer {or by hand} until completely incorporated. Using a cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough balls into a bowl with sugar. Roll the balls of dough in sugar and place onto a silicone mat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Put the granulated sugar in a bowl. Dip the bottom of a round drinking glass in the sugar and then flatten the center of each cookie dough ball.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until set on the edges, and let cool on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack {this will ensure you get a soft cookie}. Use the back of a spoon or tart shaper to make an indentation in the middle of each cookie. Repeat until all of the dough is baked.
- Once the cookies are completely cool, combine the milk chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk the ingredients until everything is melted and shiny {if you need more time, add 10 second increments}. Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to fill each indentation on top of the cookies with the chocolate mixture
- Top the cookies with a 2-4 of Muddy Buddy cereal.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and let them set for a few minutes, and your muddy buddy peanut butter cookies are ready to serve!
Expert Tips
- Use smooth peanut butter. You will already have great texture from the cereal on top, so there is no need to add it with the peanut butter. I also don’t recommend natural peanut butter as it may not give the cookies the right texture.
- Use a medium cookie scoop or tablespoon to ensure uniformity in cookie size. This helps with even baking and also helps to create a thick peanut butter cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. This brief cooling period helps them set properly and prevents them from falling apart when moved. All of my cookie baking tips can be found here.
Storage and Freezing
Store: Once the Muddy Buddy Cookies recipe is cooled completely, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They should stay fresh for up to a week, but honestly, they’re so delicious they might not last that long!
Freeze: To freeze your cookies, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. To enjoy, thaw at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! While we love the classic flavor of yellow cake mix, feel free to experiment with different cake mix flavors to suit your taste preferences. Chocolate {like these chocolate peanut butter cookies}, vanilla, or peanut butter cake mix would all work great!
Of course! While we use milk chocolate chips for a sweeter flavor, you can use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate if you prefer a richer taste. Just adjust the sweetness level according to your preference.
To keep your cookies soft and chewy, make sure not to overbake them. Remove them from the oven when they’re just set around the edges but still slightly soft in the center. They’ll continue to firm up as they cool on the baking sheet.
Do you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter? Try these recipes…
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Easy Muddy Buddy Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 box yellow cake mix {13.25 ounces}
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup butter {melted}
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 ¼ cups milk chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
Topping
- 1 cup muddy buddy cereal {I used store bought}
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Combine the cake mix, peanut butter, cooled melted butter and eggs in a large bowl and mix with a hand held mixer {or by hand} until completely incorporated.
- Using a medium cookie scoop {1.5 tablespoon} to scoop cookie dough mounds into a bowl with sugar. Roll cookie dough balls completely in sugar and place onto a silicone mat {or parchment} lined cookie sheet.
- Put the granulated sugar in a bowl. Dip the bottom of a round drinking glass in the sugar and then flatten the center of each cookie dough ball.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Repeat until all of the dough is baked.
Chocolate Ganache
- Once the cookies are cool combine the milk chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk the ingredients until everything is melted and shiny {if you need more time, add 10 second increments}.
Assembly
- Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to fill each indentation with milk chocolate filling and top with a tablespoon of muddy buddy cereal.
