1. Measure Cereal. Add the cereal to your largest mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Melt. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Melt in the microwave in 15-20 second increments, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Add in the vanilla and salt and stir to combine. (If you prefer, you can melt these ingredients together in a small saucepan on the stove over low heat)
3. Coat. Pour the melted chocolate over the cereal and gently stir with a spatula to coat the cereal evenly with the chocolate peanut butter mixture. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so the chocolate mixture ends up on the cereal, not the bowl! (You want all the cereal squares coated with chocolate peanut butter goodness!)
4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and stir to coat the cereal evenly in the powdered sugar.
5. Optional: Chill. If you’d like to form clusters, chill the muddy buddies in the fridge or freezer for about 30 minutes. (This goes faster if you spread the cereal out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.)
6. Serve & Store. Enjoy right away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

–>Or, Use A Bag. Alternatively, you can add the cereal and other ingredients to a large ziplock bag to combine them, but I find you lose a lot of the chocolate mixture to the sides of the bag and it’s harder to see if the cereal has been evenly coated. If you’re using this method, add cereal to the large bag. Pour chocolate mixture over the cereal in the bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat the cereal. Add powdered sugar, seal bag, and shake to coat with powdered sugar.