White Chocolate & Lemon Curd Muddy Buddies are the perfect summer treat….and taste just like real Lemon Bars!
One of the things I love most about food is that there’s always a story to go along with it. Food is full of memories….and every now and then we have a memory that takes us back to a time loooooong ago. Whenever I make muddy buddies, or eat them, or even smell them…..it brings me right back to middle school. Sleepovers. Staying up as late as we possibly could, munching on junk food, making random phone calls and trying on each other’s clothes. Ahhh, those were the days.
One of our favorite sleepover snacks was – you guessed it – muddy buddies (or puppy chow, or monkey munch, or whatever you call it…)! If you haven’t had the original muddy buddies, you are seriously missing out. Peanut butter, chocolate, powdered sugar….you really can’t go wrong. And I know they always say you shouldn’t mess with perfection, but I just couldn’t help myself!
I am loving all things lemon lately – especially lemon curd! Have you tried it? It tastes just like lemon bar filling, straight from a jar! I am always looking for new ways to use it (although I must admit, eating it straight from the jar seems like a pretty good option)….so when Lemon Bar Muddy Buddies came to mind, I knew they would be TO DIE FOR!! And I was right.
The crunchy Chex and the creamy lemon and the powdered sugar coating….are you kidding me? It’s a no-brainer! You couldn’t get more “lemon bar” than this unless you actually just made lemon bars. But who would want to do that when they could just do this? I didn’t think so!
Ingredients
- 8 c. Rice Chex cereal
- 1 c. white chocolate chips or candy melts
- 1/4 c. lemon curd
- 1/4 c. butter
- 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
- 2 c. powdered sugar
Instructions
- Melt white chocolate, butter, lemon curd, and lemon extract in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.
- Pour Rice Chex into a large paper bag (grocery size) and pour melted lemon mixture over cereal. Fold the bag to seal and shake to coat cereal.
- Cool slightly; then add half of the powdered sugar to paper bag and shake to coat.
- Add remaining powdered sugar and shake to coat.
- Spread out on cookie sheet to cool. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar as desired.
- Once completely cool, store at room temperature in airtight containers.
Looking for more delicious ways to use lemon curd? I’ve got you covered!
Yum! This is a very tasty treat.
Your pictures are gorgeous! ☺
Thank you!! And you got to try them….so you know! 🙂
oh, puppy chow has sleep over memories for me too! This version looks so good!
Oooo! i’m so happy you “messed with perfection” Cathy! i believe you just made a perfect snack :>D
This looks so good. I have NEVER had muddy buddies. What’s wrong with me? I am pinning this 🙂
Karen
You are killing me with these recipes! We LOVE lemon around here – this would be such a yummy Summer treat! Another I MUST HAVE and pin – now!
OMG! Do these sound outrageous or what?!?! I’m “in” for anything lemon!! I’m going to make these today!!
Thank you Cathy for this awesome idea!
These look delicious, Cathy! I can’t wait to try them over the summer. Your presentation is always wonderful! 🙂
Where did you find those cute yellow striped containers to serve this yummy recipe in? Can’t wait to make this!!
Hi Carolyn,
Those cute little containers are actually from the Michael’s $1 section! The minute I saw them, I knew I had to have them 🙂
Ooh, how interesting! I love muddy buddies and I’ve never had these! NEED to try!
Yum! I love lemon curd too. I like the idea of changing things up 😉
What exactly is lemon curd
Just saying lemon curd makes my mouth water! This sounds fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
~Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later!
http://dessertnowdinnerlater.blogspot.com
OMG these look awesome!!!
Yumm! Pinning to the Monday Funday pin board! Thanks for sharing!
oh my gosh these sound amazing I can’t wait to try them. Pinned. I hope you’ll be added these to my weekly link party too
Going to make these for Riley’s art/music and gym teachers and gift them in little Ball Jars….thank you for this fantastic easy and economical recipe!!!
Thanks for much for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Crafts – you were featured today!
–Mandy, http://www.SugarBeeCrafts.com
My guy will love these! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’ve pinned it for future reference.
Absolutely lovely! Baci Cristina
Oh yummy! I almost forgot that I wanted to make these!! I would love for you to come link this up at Party In Polka Dots!!
http://www.piggyinpolkadots.com/2013/06/party-in-polka-dots-linky-25-sweet.html
Shelley
I’m gaining weight just reading this.. sounds so delicious! I did a big round up of lemon desserts, too
Cindy @ sunsetcoasting.blogspot.com
I love lemon and would have never thought to do this with chex mix…. awesome – over here from What’s it Wednesday.
I’m a big fan of Muddy Buddies and this seems like a very “grown up” twist on them. Would be a perfect snack for a baby or bridal shower. Thanks for sharing! I’m pinning this one 😉
I am considering doing a fall planitng schedule. I actually have a bunch of weeks already worked out, but I haven’t figured out how to coordinate it all yet. If I have time, I will be putting it together this fall.
My sister just made this recipe last night, she just added more of each ingredient.. And OH MY GOSH! It was SO amazingly tasty, that I went to the store today and bought all the ingredient’s and am making it this weekend! So excited!
These look amazing! Yum! I’m gonna have to try them out!
Yum-O! I always wanted to make a lemon version, thanks for linking up and sharing too. Jen-COM
Lemon is the perfect alternative to chocolate&peanut butter! We love them!!
These look amazing! Found you via the Family Fun link party! Feel free to link up at our party, too!
http://mommifried.com/ladies-only-blog-share-link-party-dedicated-to-dad/
Can you buy lemon curd? Where and what brand? Is it the same as pie filling? Thanks
Hi Jeanne,
Yes, you can buy lemon curd at the grocery store. It is not the same as pie filling. I got mine at Trader Joe’s, but many larger grocery stores carry it. I believe it is near the jelly/jam. Hope this helps!
Yes I found it ! I got everything ready to make it and realized I forgot my white chips! Lol so ill make them later after I go out and plant my flowers! Thanks so much!
Your photos sure have my mouth watering!
These look SO delicious! mmmm… totally drooling!
I think I just discovered what the kids and I will be making my lemon-loving husband for a father’s day treat!
Yum! We love muddy buddies, but have never tried a lemon version . Perfect for summer.
I made them over the weekend-they were a hit! And great for those times I need a peanut- free snack
I made them over the weekend-they were a hit! And great for those times I need a peanut- free snack
I made them over the weekend-they were a hit! And great for those times I need a peanut- free snack
I’m so happy to hear you liked them, Laura! Thanks for letting me know!!
I love everything lemon! These look delicious. I need to make these after my man is home from deployment so I won’t eat them all myself!
Natashalh
Me too, Natashalh! They are pretty addictive….good idea to be careful! 😉
This looks so yummy! I have never heard of lemon flavored muddy buddies! I would love it if you would come and link this up at my link party
Dandelion Wishes Wednesday. I’m also pinning this 🙂
I am so trying this !
Great idea but they didn’t quite turn out for me. The taste was wonderful but the texture was mushy. The cereal lost more and more of its crunch every hour. I was so disappointed! Do you have any suggestions? I used homemade lemon curd – could that be why? I could try it with store bought curd but I’m hesitant to try it again…did it twice already! My sister-in-law thought I might need to change the ratio of white chocolate to curd, increasing the chocolate. I really wanted these to be as awesome as they sounded!!! Any help would be appreciated!
Hi Leslie, So sorry they didn’t turn out for you! One question: Did you spread them out on a cookie sheet to cool? They should be in a single layer to prevent sogginess. My other suggestion is to increase the cereal to 8 or 9 cups (the amount called for in the original muddy buddy recipe). I always like mine extra coated so that’s why I had 6 cups originally….but I actually just changed my recipe so each piece is a little less saturated. So sorry they weren’t what you expected….I hope you try them again and let me know how they turn out! 🙂
Yes, I did spread them. I think I’ll try store bought lemon curd. No one else seemed to have trouble so maybe that is the reason! I’ll let you know if it works!
Leslie, I had the same problem, the cereal got mushy. I used homemade lemon curd. I am going to try it one more time with the store bought curd. My curd was more like pudding and curd should be like jelly?
Yes, lemon curd should be more like jelly. Increasing the cereal to 8 cups also really does help keep it crunchy. The recipe now reflects this change, so be sure to follow the current recipe above!! 🙂
I just made this but with a twist. My grocery store had the curds on sale and all the lemon was gone, naturally, so I got lime curd. It turned out amazingly! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Awesome! I’m sure it would be delicious!! I went looking for lime curd the other day but my store was all out of it….I guess both are pretty popular right now. I’ll have to try the lime version soon!
Just made these for my folks…they were impressed with how “domestic” I was! I didn’t see the need to tell them I just shook everything up in a paper bag. 🙂 Anyway, they were a big hit…not sure if they’ll survive the night, though!
Yay!! That’s awesome – good for you! And I agree, no need to tell when it’s super easy! Just let them be impressed!! 🙂
Hello – I just tried to make these and am wondering if maybe using the white chocolate candy melts might work better? I tried twice to melt the chocolate chips with the butter – first over direct heat and then over a double boiler. Although the double boiler worked better – both times the chocolate wanted to ball up and separate from the butter. I finally was able to incorporate the lemon curd but not without taking out a lot of the melted butter. They are delicious now that I got them together but I’m wondering what happened because from the way the recipe is written it sounded like the chocolate lemon mixture should “pour” and mine just globbed. I had to stir the chex to get them somewhat coated. Any suggestions?
Hi Karen, Sorry you are having trouble! It’s possible that white chocolate candy melts would work better, but I did make mine with white chocolate chips. I just melted the chocolate chips and butter slowly over low heat. It wasn’t smooth melting, but as soon as I added the lemon curd it all came together and was smooth. Did you try adding the lemon curd before you took the butter out? I will try it again this weekend with candy melts and let you know how it works!
I made them again tonight and added the lemon curd to the white chocolate & butter BEFORE melting. I tried it first with candy melts and then with white chocolate chips, and found that both melted equally well. So I think the key to great melting is to add the lemon curd right away, instead of waiting. I’ve changed the recipe to reflect this. Sorry about the trouble you had – I am confident this will help! 🙂
Thank you so much for the help. I will be making these again for July 4 and will try this! Nevertheless they are delicious and I can’t stop eating!
I think you will like them even better now, Karen! Thanks!!
Can you please tell me what brand of lemon curd you used? I’m hoping Amazon has it.
Worked well with Dickinson’s brand lemon curd!
Worked well with Dickinson’s brand lemon curd!
I used Dickinson’s brand too, Amy!!
Trader Joe has it and Target does too!
What is lemon curd, where can I find it? Looks so good….
What is lemon curd, where can I find it? Looks so good….
Just made these for the family 4th celebration tomorrow – hope they last through the night!! My store did not have lemon curd, so I used lemon pie filling (the same amount as the recipe) but added the zest and juice of one lemon. Did not have a big enough bag to shake them in, so I used a large mixing bowl just folded the white chocolate mixture in. Used a little more powdered sugar than the recipe called for and had about 10 cups of cereal total. Spread it all out on my island on top of wax paper. THEY ARE DELICIOUS!! Thank you!!
These look yummy but where can I get a clean brown paper grocery bag. I don’t think I’ve see anything but plastic grocery bags in a long time.
All the grocery stores around here have brown paper bags. If you can’t find one, you can also do the shaking part in large Ziploc bags. Hope this helps!
I JUST made these because I crave all things lemon right now (preggo!!). They are still cooling on the backing sheets but they are already delicious!! They are going to be a huge hit at my gender reveal party! Thank you for the recipe!
Awesome, Caiti! Glad you like them….and a huge CONGRATULATIONS!! Hope they went over well at your party! 🙂
How far ahead can you make these so that they are still crispy? they sound delicious!
ks – for best results, I would make them the day before using. They will naturally lose some of their crispiness over time 🙂 Hope you enjoy!!
I just made these for a family party and they’re delicious! I didn’t have any problem with sogginess. It’s hard to coat evenly but I just used a spoon to try to even it out. I also doubled the recipe.
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit! Wow so very tastey! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
I fell in love with lemon curd last year and can’t wait to try these.