Patriotic Red Velvet Cream Cheese Muddy Buddies

Have you ever thought of something, only to find out that people have already done it?

This happened to me a lot during Valentines Day last year. I even talked about it on the blog. Back then my head was sort of exploding with muddy buddy ideas.

Similar to now.

I was thinking of all the possibilities, any mix, pudding, cake, cookie, and any chocolate, could make a totally different muddy buddy!

I really wanted to make red velvet ones.

I even put it in my journal. That's serious people.

But then I found out that everyone had done it. Seriously.

So I put it off for later. Yesterday I got a serious muddy buddy craving. I was gonna make something with the cinnamon chips I got, but then I got on the computer.

Oh my gosh guys! The 4th of July is next week! So I got really bored and racked my brain for ideas.

I'm good at coming up with ideas when I have a flavor. Color combos, not so much. Then, I saw this. Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes, that got all jazzed up for the 4th.

Major duh moment! Just use red velvet and cream cheese. That already gives you the red and white part, all that's left is blue! Which can be easily solved with sprinkles, candy melts and food coloring.

So, I decided to make Red Velvet Cream Cheese Muddy Buddies. Perfect, who would think of muddy buddies at 4th of July?

I'll tell you who. Someone else before me! Sigh. Being a dessert blogger isn't easy.

Buuuut, I didn't want to have to change my mind after already buying the ingredients, so I just went with it.

I should go with it more often, dontcha' think?

So, people often try to do different flavors of muddy buddies, but they mess up. Classic muddy buddies have peanut butter in them. It gives it a certain softness that makes it really good. It doesn't allow the chocolate to ever fully harden. When people make it, they just leave it out, and you have white chocolate and something muddy buddies.

Ashton from Something Swanky had the idea of using frosting in place of peanut butter. It has the same soft texture! Plus it gives you a lot more flavor options. So, I figured I'd do something similar.

Most cake batter muddy buddies have the cake mix added with the powdered sugar. I did that too, but for an extra flavor boost I put some in with the white chocolate. I was thinking about using a red velvet bark in place of white chocolate and then thought, why not just put some cake mix in with the frosting goop?

It makes it look sort of pink, but it doesn't really matter because it all get's covered up with cake mix and powdered sugar.

Frosting muddy buddies have a different texture/flavor than normal ones. They're really sweet, I'd probably add a pinch of salt next time, and they're really soft. Normal ones are crunchy/soft. These ones are soft. These are chewier in a way. It's like chewy and soft got morphed together. I like normal muddy buddies when they're still warm, but these ones tasted a lot better the next day. The flavors blend and complement each other better, and it's crunchier, but with a soft texture. It's kind of hard to describe, but it's cool.

Really cool.

Red Velvet Cream Cheese Muddy Buddies
Muddy buddies get a new twist in this delicious patriotic treat! In place of peanut butter is cream cheese frosting, which then get's smothered in a red velvet powdered sugar mixture. The result is a soft sweet treat that you can't resist!
Prep Time: 10 min.   Total Time:10 min.   Serves: 6
Ingredients:

• 4 1/3 cup chex cereal
• 1/2 cup white chocolate
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup cream cheese frosting
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon red velvet cake mix
• 1/2 cup red velvet cake mix
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Measure the chex and pour into a large bowl. 
2. Microwave white chocolate, butter, and frosting. Take out and stir about every 20 seconds. After 1 minute, add vanilla and 1/2 tsp red velvet cake mix. Stir, and microwave until smooth. 
3. Pour frosting mixture over the cereal. Mix it until coated in the mixture. 
4. Pour powdered sugar and 1/2 cup cake mix into a gallon size zip-loc bag. Seal and shake together until mixed. 
5. Use a large spoon to scoop the cereal into the bag. Seal the bag and shake until coated. 
6. Serve. This is good at any stage, but I prefer it the next day when the flavors sort of blend and it get's crunchier. 

Notes:
*if you want the patriotic version of this, follow all of the directions. Divide the muddy buddies in half and add a lot more powdered sugar to one. This will make it white. Roughly toss the white and the red together, then drizzle with blue candy melts
*you really just need 1/2 cup cake mix, and 1/2 tsp cake mix. There really is only 7 ingredients, not 8, I just added that for clarification.
*these are really sweet, you can add a pinch of salt to the white chocolate to tone it down a little
*I used canned frosting because it's a little smoother and easier to melt, but you can use homemade if you want.  

 These muddy buddies are different than the original. I like them both equally, but in different ways. 

The red velvet has almost a salty/sweet taste because sometimes the cream cheese shines through. 

The original is crunchier, but the red velvet is chewier/softer. It literally melts in your mouth. They both have a lot going for them, and I really recommend trying this version, it's super yummy. 

So, I have 2 title photos. They just both looked so good! Feel free to pin either one (or both, or all of them, I'm good!)