4th of July Muddy Buddies

Assemble these 4th of July Muddy Buddies and serve them to your guests this Independence Day long weekend! Loaded with sugary treats, this snack mix will disappear quite quickly! Friends can help themselves to a tasty treat at your party, or scoop some into cellophane bags and tie them up with a festive ribbon as a take-home treat!

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 4th of July Muddy Buddies snack mix. But, we are not working on Christmas-themed snacks today. 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 even Independence Day!

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!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

Here is a list of the ingredients you will need 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 taste 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 like the 4th of July, I’m using red, white, and blue candy here.

HOW TO MAKE 4TH OF JULY MUDDY BUDDIES

Measure each colour of your candy melts into separate microwave-safe bowls. Set aside. Next, measure one cup of confectioner’s sugar into a large resealable food-safe bag. You will need three of these bags, using a total of three cups of confectioner’s sugar. 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 2 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. 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 above using the remaining two candy melt colours. Once all three 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.

CANDIES!!!!!

You can use any candies that you prefer here. In my Canadian Red and White version of this recipe, I’m using lots of store-bought candies with varying shapes, sizes, flavours, and brands. I recommend sourcing wrapped candies, especially if you are concerned about someone else touching everything! If you don’t want everyone’s fingers on everything, pop a pair of mini tongs or a candy scoop into the serving bowl – problem solved!

In terms of candy, I could only think of one place where I could peruse the rows and select red, white, and blue candies that would work well on my board. Yep, I headed to Bulk Barn! I was able to find most of the ingredients there, in fact! If you don’t have a Bulk Barn in your area, locate your local bulk foods. It’s a great place to start for these types of ingredients.

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, white, and blue candy melts in this case, which is pretty obvious! Ha!

STORING AND PACKAGING

Most snacks and treats taste best at room temperature. Don’t leave them out on your countertop for long periods of time. They will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 5-7 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop.