Rah! Rah! For Reindeer Munchies! The Easiest Ultimate Holiday Treat!

It’s that time of year again- "THE HOLIDAYS". I love it, but always stress out over what to do for "everyone." You know what I’m talking about - holiday gifts for teachers, coaches, neighbors and well…"everyone." We do not get elaborate presents or gift certificates, but we are surrounded by people that are important to us. I want to share something with them at the holidays. So, we started a tradition a few years back to make holiday treats. This year, the kids and I decided to make Reindeer Munchies as our holiday treat to share. Everyone LOVES this snack when I make it for parties and it’s perfect to set out when you have family or friends dropping in for the holidays! What do I love most about it? It’s a personal touch made from our family, it’s quick to make and it’s economical so we can make a "ton" of it at a time.

Do you need a quick, easy treat to make for the holidays? This is the one! Here’s how to make it:

Combine 5 cups corn or rice-based square cereal and 2 cups thin pretzel sticks (the recipe calls for you to break them in half - but we have forgotten that step many times and it turns out fine). Place in a large bowl and then just set it aside.

This is another reason why I love this recipe - it’s insanely easy to make and with just a few ingredients. Just take 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (if you have a peanut allergy, you can substitute almond butter or use a sunflower seed butter instead) and 1 (11.5 - ounce) bag of milk chocolate chips and put in a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave on high for 45 seconds, stir the mixture.

　

Microwave another 45 seconds and it should look like this:



Depending on the power of your microwave you can microwave the mixture in 30 second intervals to avoid scorching the chocolate. Stir until smooth like this:

Immediately pour chocolate over the cereal and pretzel mixture in the bowl.

Then stir until the cereal and pretzels are well coated.

Spread the mixture onto 2 waxed paper-lined baking sheets.

Place the baking sheets with the chocolate-coated cereal mixture in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so the chocolate can set. If you don’t have room in the refrigerator this time of year, be creative! I have been known to set these down on top of our freezer that is in our garage! It’s cool enough out there!

After 20 minutes, take out and break the mixture into bite-sized pieces and place in 2 large resealable plastic food bags. Then pour 1/2 cup powdered sugar into each bag.

Make sure you seal the bags and shake well until the mixture is coated. This is one of those times that you want to make sure you have the "reliable" brand of re-sealable bags. My kids love to help with the shaking part and we have had a few ‘mishaps’ over the years. It always happens right before company comes over. Reindeer Munchies is everywhere, the kids are screaming (and laughing hysterically), the kitchen is covered in powdered sugar and you know what happens next? The dog comes in to walk through it too. Welcome to my glamorous life!

The finishing touch to this recipe is to add 1/2 cup of candy-coated chocolate pieces in each bag and carefully shake to distribute the pieces.

I really wanted to make the reindeer munchies and put them in the ice cream cone like the recipes shows. However, I personally would have a hard time with transporting them intact and free of meltdowns when a reindeer eye came loose or the contents spilled (I have a pre-schooler and a kindergartener!). If you have older children, I would definitely try the ice cream cone - it’s SO cute and easy to do! Because of the ages of my little elves, these are some of the treats we made up for our teachers. We found holiday tea towels to wrap the bags in and placed a ribbon on it. A little more durable for my accident prone elves!

Ready to take to school for delivery!

Reindeer Munchies can be made ahead and stored for up to 4 weeks in an airtight container- great to have on hand for family or friends that drop by! Give these Reindeer Munchies a try and make sure to come back and let me know how it turned out for you.

I hope you enjoy your holidays and that this gives you a great easy, quick treat that you can share with your family and friends! Happy Holidays!

Come back in a few days when Becky will share a holiday cookie favorite.

Alex is paid to write for the Land O’Lakes Recipe Buzz® Blog.