Candy Cane Muddy Buddies

Assemble a big batch of these Candy Cane Muddy Buddies and package them up for your workmates, friends, and neighbours. Loaded with peppermint flavour and lots of chocolate, this snack mix will disappear quite quickly! Alternatively, set out a big bowl with cellophane bags and ribbon and encourage friends and guests to help themselves before leaving your holiday party!

All the way back in 2018, I shared two recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen that celebrated the ease of putting together a festive and fun party snack mix, much like these Candy Cane Muddy Buddies. I really do think that these are the types of snacks that people love to eat at a casual get-together – you know the type – a birthday party, a movie or games night, and especially and Christmas party!

The two Christmas snacks I speak of are my Christmas Eve Sweet Snack Mix, which uses peanut butter in the chocolate mixture and also uses shreddies cereal rather than chex. Secondly, there’s my Christmas Eve Savoury Snack Mix, which is my favourite, because I tend to go for salty and savoury over chocolaty and sweet treats. I also made an Easter version!

When I thought about posting this recipe, my first thought was that I’ve done this already. But, not quite. I wanted to show you how easy it is to switch up a few ingredients in a recipe to make it new and exciting all over again. Let’s prove that by making a few changes we can make a new recipe. Change and alter the ingredients and colours to create a brand new recipe! Note how inviting and festive this snack mix looks! And, it’s so easy to make too!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the easier recipes! Before I get into today’s recipe, let me make mention of the five previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifles Series and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves. Next was a second volume of my 12 Bars and Squares of Christmas! You can find the first bars and squares series here! After that came the seventh annual instalment of Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas!

I know we’re getting closer to the big day, which means that most of us will have less time to bake. That is why I’m sharing this new series with you called Lord Byron’s 12 Homemade Holiday Gifts Series! This will be the last series for the 2024 holiday season, so let’s get to it!

LORD BYRON’S 12 SNACKS & TREATS OF CHRISTMAS

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to my last Christmas series this holiday season! I’m calling this series Lord Byron’s 12 Homemade Holiday Gifts Series. Unlike the 24 Cookies of Christmas series that ended a few days ago, this series will focus on easy-to-make snacks and treats that are both delicious and festive.

I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy too. Most of them will require the help of a microwave rather than an oven. And, a bunch of them will involve more assembly-type tasks rather than preheating, beating, whipping, etc.

Just like every other series that I’ve shared here, this series will also see a new snack or treat recipe shared with you, Dear Reader, each and every single day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday snacks and treats year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Chex Cereal – For best results, use plain Chex cereal. If you cannot find Chex, a really good substitute is Shreddies. They’re very different, but Shreddies tastes great in this recipe too.
• Candy Melts – You will need both white and red candy melts.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This coats the candy melt-coated cereal and prevents everything from sticking together or clumping.
• M&M Candy – To keep my snack mix looking festive. I’m using red and white candy here.
• Crushed Candy Canes
• Hershey’s Peppermint Kisses
• Peppermint Candy

HOW TO MAKE CANDY CANE MUDDY BUDDIES

Measure each colour of your candy melts into separate microwave-safe bowls. Set aside. Next, measure one cup of confectioner’s sugar and 1/4 cup of the crushed candy canes into a large resealable food-safe bag. You will need two of these bags, using a total of two cups of confectioner’s sugar and 1/2 cup of candy canes. Set those aside.

Working with one colour of candy melts at a time, microwave according to the package instructions. I like to microwave in 30-second intervals at half power or speed. This will melt them slowly and prevent them from seizing. Stir well between each interval until they are fully melted and smooth.

Once smooth, add 4 cups of the cereal to the bowl and mix with a spoon until fully coated. Transfer this mixture to one of the bags with the confectioner’s sugar and crushed candy canes. Seal the bag and shake well to coat the cereal. Empty the contents into a fine-mesh sieve and shake off the excess confectioner’s sugar. Transfer the cereal to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread the cereal out so that the pieces are not touching. Allow the pieces to air dry for 2 hours.

Repeat the steps using red candy melts. Once both colours have air dried for at least 2 hours, transfer them all to a large mixing bowl along with all of the remaining ingredients. Toss well to combine. Store in a food-safe bag at room temperature for up to 7 days.

WHAT ARE CANDY MELTS?

Candy melts are small, round discs that are made to emulate white chocolate. They are available in a wide range of colours. Once melted, they are used in confections such as the coating on cake pops. I think the term candy melts is owned by Wilton, which is the only type I’ll use.

I use Wilton’s because I have used the brand many times before and have never been disappointed, but also because they have a lot of different colours to choose from. Oh, and the price is always good too!

If you cannot find candy melts, you can either order them online here, or you can use generic brands that can be found at your local baking supply store. The generic brands are sometimes called melting wafers. As you can see, I used red and white candy melts in this case, which is pretty obvious! Ha!

MAKING YOUR OWN CRUSHED CANDY CANES

If you don’t want to use the red and white crushed candy canes that you can find just about anywhere this time of year, you can crush your own candy canes by placing unwrapped, broken candy canes into a sturdy bag and firmly rolling over them with a wooden rolling pin.

Either way you look at it, the candy canes should not be crushed too finely. Many times, you’ll find they have too much powder, meaning that they have been crushed too much. You want chunky pieces in order to get the red and white speckled pattern.

I’ve tried crushing them myself and have crushed them a little too much. Even the type you buy in the store can sometimes have too much candy cane dust. You can easily fix it by filtering out the dust. Working in small amounts, place a heaping spoonful of the crushed candy canes into a colander. Sift out the dust so that you are left with nice little pieces.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!