Oh yeah, I went there! Chex cereal crust, peanut butter swirl cheesecake and lots of Muddy Buddies on top. What is a Muddy Buddy, you ask?!? This outrageously addictive snack, also called Puppy Chow, is made with Chex cereal or Crispix with melted peanut butter, butter, chocolate and lots of powdered sugar. So if you’ve never had Muddy Buddies before, now is the time to start!
This cheesecake was completely inspired by the flavors of the Muddy Buddies. The crust is made from Chex cereal and butter and the creamy cheesecake is swirled with delicious peanut butter.
You can serve the cheesecake without the Muddy Buddy topping but why would you?!? Okay, so my cheesecake has some cracks on the top but it all gets hidden anyways. If you’ve made cheesecake before and you have a better method for baking so you don’t get those cracks, please share in the comments below and bake the cake however you want. I was seriously just not in the mood to make a water bath for my cheesecake…
Muddy Buddy Cheesecake
Ingredients
Chex Crust
- 2½ cups Chex cereal (any flavor you want)
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 8 oz. sour cream
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup peanut butter
Muddy Buddies
- 8 cups Chex Cereal (any flavor you want)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Chex Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., grease a 9 inch springform pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Crush the Chex cereal into small pieces, add the melted butter and combine. Press the crust into the prepared springform pan and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Cheesecake Filling
- In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and brown sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time until all ingredients are combined. Pour the batter into the cooled Chex crust.
- Melt the peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds then pour over the cheesecake filling and swirl with a knife to make a pretty design.
- Put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven then place the cheesecake on a baking sheet and bake on the shelf above the pan of water. Bake the cheesecake for 45-60 minutes, until the edges of the cheesecake are done and center is still a bit soft. Turn off the oven, prop open the oven door and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.
Muddy Buddies
- While the cheesecake is cooling, prepare the Muddy Buddies. Place the Chex cereal in a large plastic storage bag and set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave for 1 minute, stir until smooth and pour the mixture over the cereal. Close the bag and shake until the chocolate mixture completely coats every piece of cereal.
- Pour the powdered sugar into the bag of cereal, close it up and shake until all of the powdered sugar coats the Muddy Buddies.
- When the cheesecake has cooled, top it with the Muddy Buddies and lost of candy, like M&M’s.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
