Watch out, cupcakes...there's a new favorite dessert in town! This salty-and-sweet Birthday Cake Snack Mix is the perfect snack or dessert to serve at parties, in the school classroom, or for any other festive celebration!
Hi, friends! I think that I owe you a warning right at the start of this post: this cake batter-flavored "puppy chow" snack mix is so delicious and so incredibly addicting that it's impossible to stop at just one handful! Trust me...
Ever since Gibbs came home from kindergarten raving about the Puppy Chow that his class made (and enjoyed) together earlier this year, the treat has become a staple in our kitchen. He brought home a recipe that we have made and adapted so many times that it's taken various forms depending on the occasion. Casey brought a batch of the mix to his preschool class when he was the Student of the Week, we served "Bunny Chow" for Easter, and when I saw these FLIPZ® Birthday Cake Covered Pretzels at the store, I instantly knew what our next concoction would be! After all, Casey's 5th birthday is coming up in just a couple of weeks, so a Birthday Cake Snack Mix is obviously necessary!
Our family has enjoyed snacking on the Milk Chocolate and White Fudge FLIPZ® pretzels for years, but I only recently discovered this amazing flavor. While they're perfectly delicious on their own straight out of the bag, I knew that they would really be the perfect addition to one of our favorite treats.
If you're not familiar with "puppy chow," it's basically just a snack mix that's created by coating cereal in melted chocolate (and peanut butter, sometimes) before dusting it all with powdered sugar. In this case, however, we made the dessert extra-special by adding colorful marshmallows, the FLIPZ® pretzels, rainbow sprinkles, and a coating of yellow cake mix (which gives everything an amazing cake batter flavor!!).
The making AND the eating of our snack mixes has become quite the family affair, too. I'm not sure what the kids enjoy more: the preparation (when they sneak bites of all of the ingredients),
or eating the finished product. Either way, it's a fun way to spend some time together in the kitchen and to make the boys smile!
This recipe is great for kids because it only requires about 10 minutes from start to finish, and there's a job for every age. Spencer (who is 2 years old) likes to push the buttons on the microwave when I melt the chocolate. Casey stirs the chocolate over the cereal,
Gibbs and Casey can both shake the plastic bag to coat the cereal,
and Gibbs helps to finish it off by adding the FLIPZ® pretzels and the marshmallows at the end.
Of course, everyone shows up when it's time to EAT!
Keith didn't stop raving about this dessert until it was gone, and he even insisted that I package it and SELL IT! Hah! While I have no plans to do so, I have a feeling that I'll be making many more batches in the years to come. Thanks to their unique salty-and-sweet taste, you will never get bored with the FLIPZ® Birthday Cake Pretzels (or with this dessert)! We certainly can't keep our hands out of the bowl!
I hope that you'll give this delicious Birthday Cake Snack Mix a try the next time that you're celebrating a special occasion with your family as well!
[Tweet "Birthday #Cake Snack Mix is an easy treat that's perfect for any celebration! #snack #FLIPZ"]
Birthday Cake Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups white chocolate melting wafers you can substitute with regular white chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 9 cups crispy rice square cereal
- 1 cup 4.6 oz dry yellow cake mix
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup rainbow non pareils rainbow sprinkles
- 1 7.5 ounce bag FLIPZ® Birthday Cake Covered Pretzels
- 1 ½ cups 70 g miniature marshmallows (I used pastel fruit-flavored marshmallows, but regular white marshmallows are fine too)
Instructions
- Place white chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute; stir until well blended and smooth.
- Place cereal in a large bowl. Pour chocolate mixture over top and toss to coat. You will have to stir quite a bit to make sure that all of the cereal squares are covered.
- Once the cereal is coated, transfer the mixture to a large zip-top bag. Add dry cake mix, powdered sugar, and sprinkles to the bag; seal, and gently toss until all of the cereal is coated.
- Stir in FLIPZ® Birthday Cake pretzels and marshmallows. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Thanks to FLIPZ® for sponsoring this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% mine. I appreciate your support for the brands that make The Seasoned Mom possible!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
This snack mix sounds like the perfect way to fight off those cupcake cravings! This is such a great idea, Blair! Looks like your kiddos had a great time helping (and eating) this!
Blair
Exactly, Gayle! No need for a cupcake when we can munch on this! 🙂
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction
What a fun snack mix idea! My nieces would love to help make this!
Blair
Thanks, Jessica! It's SO kid-friendly -- definitely get your nieces in on the action! 🙂
Ruwani
This snack mix sounds so good and what a great idea to spend more time doing a fun activity with the kids. I am sure your boys would have loved it 🙂
Blair
Thanks, Ruwani! It's such a fun treat!
Karly Campbell
If it's birthday cake flavored, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be eating it out of the palm of your hand. Maybe even literally. This looks SO good and is perfect for a party!
Blair
I'm totally agree, Karly! Anything with that cake batter flavor is an automatic WIN in my book! Thanks so much!
Rachel @ Bakerita
This snack mix looks so delicious and festive!! Sounds like tons of fun to make with your kiddos 😀
Blair
Thanks, Rachel! It's dangerously delicious!! 🙂
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction
This snack mix looks so delicious, and perfect for parties!
Blair
Thanks, Marsha! It's definitely the perfect finger food for a party!
Kathryn @ Family Food on the Table
So yes, technically my daughter has a birthday in less than a month (also turning 5!) but can I pretend it's my birthday NOW and make a batch of this?! Ah, so amazing! Puppy chow is absolutely my weakness, so I never make it because I can't be trusted 😉 But I'm going to have to throw all of that out the window and indulge in some of this - YUM!
Blair
Awesome! We have kiddos the same age! You definitely need to make this sooner, though. I think that you're my food soulmate. Puppy chow and cake batter are two of my greatest weaknesses! 🙂
Amanda {Striped Sptaula}
This is such a cute snack mix, I bet my friends' kids who will be visiting me would love this! I love that it's white chocolate, too. Yum.
Blair
Thanks, Amanda! There's not a kid (or adult) that can turn this down! 🙂
GiGi Eats
ANYTHING birthday cake "flavor" makes me head turn like a dog looking for his bone! LOL!
Blair
Hah! You and me both, GiGi!!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
Sounds so much fun! Would love to try this with my niece!
Blair
Thanks, Shadi! Yes, it's PERFECT for the little ones (and the grown-ups love it, too)!
Tracy
This recipe does not work with the butter it turns the white chocolate into frosting. Tried it twice with same results. Very disappointed.
Blair
Hey, Tracy! I'm not sure that I understand the problem. Is it that the white chocolate firms up into a coating? That's exactly what you want, and it gives the cake mix something to cling to. It shouldn't be wet and gooey, but instead a harder coating. I've never had a problem with the butter, so I'm just trying to help troubleshoot. 🙂