I love snacks. I remember having a friend in University who hated the word – she’d repeat it over and over until it did sound like the most totally ridiculous word ever. Still, I love snacks and I won’t belittle the concept or the word further. And this party mix (aka Chex Mix) is the best snack that I’ve discovered recently.
I didn’t grow up with snacks like this – I’m new to this whole “party mix” game. But I’ve taken to it like a CHAMP. I made this to serve at our annual Boxing Day party and I loved it so much that I made another batch for our quiet New Years celebration. Me + the husband + Ken Burns’ Dust Bowl doc + party mix. Living it up right.
Also, anything that can be served right from a large empty yogurt container is a-okay in my books.
I don’t know if this is any different from any of the legions of Chex mix-style recipes out there, but it’s a keeper. It’s got everything that I love – from the crunchy toasted cereals and pretzels to the salty-sweet-spicy buttery combination. It’s great for any gathering or party and I think you could play around with the flavours if you were so inclined. Me, I’ll be keeping this as is. Though, I should point out that the second time we made it, I used up some leftover “hard butter sauce” (aka rum flavoured butter + icing sugar from our xmas pudding) instead of adding in the butter and brown sugar and I believe it was even better than the first time I made it.
Oh, and I’d like to mention that I’m super chuffed to have won in two categories for the THE NINJAMATICS’ 2012 CANADIAN WEBLOG AWARDS for “Best Designed Weblog” & “Best Weblog About Food & Drink “. Now that’s something to celebrate!! Party mix for all!!
sweet, spicy & salty party mix
(adapted from Ricardo Cuisine)
5 c multi-grain oat cereal (like Cheerios)
5 c rice squares cereal (like Crispix or Chex)
3 c pretzel sticks
1/2 c unsalted butter
1/4 c brown sugar
2 T worchestershire sauce
1 t chili powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion salt
a few shakes of hot saucePreheat oven to 250F. Line 2 baking sheets in parchment & set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the cereals & pretzels. In a small saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients over medium-high heat until melted. Slowly pour the sauce over the cereal and toss well to combine. Divide cereal mix equally between the 2 prepared cookie sheets and spread out in an even layer. Bake for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and crisp. Cool and store in a tightly covered container.
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I love that there’s some sweetness in this! Too many of the mixes are way too salty without that balance.
Congratulations on your two recent awards! Love, just love your website – great photography and your conversations with us are authentic, warm and friendly. Not to mention of course the recipes… M-M-m-m-..
Keep up the great work!
During the Holidays, I made several large batches of the old-fashioned Chex Mix recipe, with gift giving in mind.
Surprisingly, several of the people I gave it to had never heard of this type of cereal mix. I was shocked!!
I can hardly wait to try this sweet spicy kind. You’ve hit all my major taste buds in one felt swoop. 🙂
Hi there,
Congratulations on the award! Well-deserved indeed. Love the snack mix, it’s a classic.
Congrats on the awards! Have been following your blog for many years now. Snack mix is new to me, too, not having grown up with it. It’s really popular here in the “midwest” of the USA, every mom has her own recipe 🙂
Woo-hoo! Congratulations on winning the 2 awards! Definitely a reason to celebrate. Don’t forget to add the awards to your sidebar list 🙂
I love the word “snacks” as I grew up in day care and we always had snack time. I also recall the ‘Bits and Bites’ commercial of the early 80s and would plead with my mom for a bag of them at the supermarket. I’ve never tried to make my own though. I know I’d eat the entire batch because I’ve done it before. I think a handful of peanuts would also be a good move. What do you think?
Salty crunchy and edible using only my hands? Yeah, snacks are pretty much where it’s at!
Agreed, Joanne. This has a perfect balance, imo. Enjoy!
Kathy, thanks so much for your kind words. Yay!! Thanks a lot, you made my day 🙂
Lisa, I’m not surprised really. I never heard about it until recently. I’m not sure why though because clearly I was missing out big time!
Thanks Donna 🙂
Yay, thanks Christina – it seems to be super popular and I’m glad to have discovered it.
Thanks Bijoux! I love the word snacks too. And yes, these are totally Bits n’ Bites – which I still buy on occasion because they are so dang delicious. And yes to a peanut addition, I think that would be awesome. If you make it, let me know!
Definitely, Sarah 🙂
I have to say that we avoid big sporting events like that plague–as in we live in the SF bay and escaped to Portland for this past weekend–but party mix is a totally different story. I almost want a big bowl of this for dinner…
I never grew up on this either…it always appeared on American TV and in magazines, so I was always intrigued. It seems rather retro…which is all the rage now, so perfect to have at a party or gathering. I wonder what it would be like with one of the sweetened cereals ( like honey nut cheerios)? I guess adjusting the sugar in that case might be a good idea.
I love the picture of you and your husband sitting and watching “the dust bowl” [ I never knew there really was so much dust! ] and munching on party mix!
That is something to celebrate! Yay you!! Yay Sandwiches! 🙂
I’ve always loved Chex Mix – especially homemade – and have a few family members and friends who make it around the holidays to package and give to close ones. Well, it was only this past year that I discovered the “secret ingredient” (at least to me) to why it’s so beyond amazing. As Paula would say, BOOOTTER! Aka butter. As they say, ignorance is bliss and now my mind is tainted with that knowledge, but I DON’T CARE! Sooo yummmy. 🙂
Eileen, Portland is always the best way out 🙂 And yes, this makes a great dinner option!
Yup, very retro and well-worth picking up boxes of cereals I’d never use otherwise, hag. So freakin’ good! As for the dust bowl, omg, so much dust. I had no clue.
Thanks Julie 🙂
Butter is always the secret (or not so secret) ingredient, Kori 🙂 Always.
I bookmarked this recipe way back when you posted it and I finally made it last week to take with us on our 4th of July cabin retreat. So glad I did! I think I ruined my appetite many times by munching on this stuff, but who cares. It was great!