Sweet Saturday: Cupcake Muddy Buddies

Happy Saturday, my dear friends! At long last, a sweetened Saturday. :o) I miss baking a lot and am happy to get back to it soon. Just being in the kitchen makes my heart dance! Today's sprightly treat is actually from January, but it was never posted due to busy bee weeks and then being sick. Here's hoping for a nice long string of Sweet Saturdays! :o)

Muddy Buddies... also known as Puppy Chow and Chex Mix. Puppy Chow is my favorite name, but I opted against using it for the subject to play it safe. This is NOT for puppies! ;) I had never previously strayed beyond the normal puppy chow flavor of melted white chocolate with cereal, M&Ms, etc. But this... this, my friends, is puppy chow that tastes like cupcakes. 

Not only that, but it's loaded with my beloved sprinkles. Instant joy. :o)

In only 15 minutes, this funfetti cupcake-flavored treat is complete. Many recipes for this flavor of puppy chow call for cake mix, which always steers me away. But a sweet, sprinkle-loving genius named Sally nailed the flavor without requiring the cake mix. I wanted to hug her.

Is this treat insanely sweet? Yes! And your kitchen will smell like you're baking cupcakes, which is never a bad thing. This is easy to whip up and whimsically delightful to serve to loved ones. :o) (And I couldn't stop munching on it.)

I wish you a beautiful, sprinkle-filled weekend! :o)

Notes:
 *Do NOT omit the required extracts! They are essential to creating the cupcake flavor.
 *The mixture will be very thick. Do not question it or think you messed up, as that is how it should be. :o)
 *The puppy chow will not be as crunchy on day two (which personally was fine with me). If you prefer it to remain crunchy, simply leave out the butter and melt the white chocolate or almond bark according to package instructions before adding the extracts/emulsions.
 *Although the recipe says NOT to use white chocolate chips, that's what I used since I had them on hand. It worked perfectly.

Cupcake Puppy Chow
Yield: 4.5 cups

Ingredients:
4.5 cups Rice Chex cereal (do not use Crispex, as it's not sturdy enough)
¼ cup salted butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream (no substitutions)
10 ounces white chocolate candy melts or almond bark (not white chocolate chips)
2 teaspoons almond emulsion or extract (please see note below)
1 teaspoon butter emulsion or extract (please see note below)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional (I used it and loved it)
⅔ cup assorted sprinkles
1½ cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:
Pour the cereal into a large bowl; set aside.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, cream, and white chocolate. Stir constantly until the white chocolate is fully melted. The mixture will be very thick and buttery. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract, butter extract, and vanilla extract (if using).

Pour warm white chocolate mixture over cereal. Stir it together gently, being careful not to break the cereal. Wait about 3-4 minutes (no longer) and gently fold in the sprinkles- you don't want the sprinkles to lose their color.

In a large zipped-top bag or covered container, add the confectioners' sugar. Pour the white chocolate covered cereal into the large bag or container. Seal the bag or container and shake until all the cereal is coated with the powdered mixture.

Discard excess powder and enjoy. Store at room temperature up to 2 weeks- please see note above about the "crunch" factor.

** You can always make the puppy chow without emulsions/extracts and still maintain a funfetti look and basic flavor.

Source: Sally's Baking Addiction