How To Make The Best Holiday Chex Mix Ever

Alright ya'll, admittedly, I'm more of a home cook. I'm not really a big....holiday person that pulls out a signature move at the end of the year to impress everyone. 

I'm more of a "White People Taco Night" kind of cook. Like, I can follow a recipe if I need to.  But in general, I'm not really a "make it up myself" kind of cook.

In general, it's got a recipe for a reason, and I follow recipes.   Sure, there are a few that I do often enough that I know how to cook them without consulting a cookbook.  Quesadillas.  Spaghetti.  Mac and Cheese Bakes. You know, basic stuff.  And I have a few recipes I like to break out for a party or something, like a buffalo chicken dip.

But all of those that I know by heart also get a little change up every now and then. Nothing major.  But, you know, if you are gonna make spaghetti...... maybe you make it with half beef and half spicy pork mince or something.  Or one time you had some Havarti cheese in the fridge, so you decided to throw that in your mac and cheese, just to use it up so it didn't go to waste.

You dig it.  And sometimes it works, sometimes...it doesn't.

There's only one recipe I made differently every time, that works every time. And it's mostly because...you kinda can't mess it up.  I'll unpack that.

How To Make the Best Holiday Chex Mix Ever

First of all, guys, you have to assemble some ingredients.  Let me just save you a LOT of time, trouble and heartache by saying, just get a packet.

I know.  You're very creative.  You're a great cook. You can get a recipe online!

No.

Just don't.  It's never quite right, and it's just a lot of trouble for nothin'.  This is supposed to be simple. Just K.I.S.S.  When you go to the food library to get your cereal to make the mix, check around the special displays.  They'll have a box of this stuff near or on top of it around this time of year.

Also, please be aware, gentle reader, that this picture was from LAST year's mix blend.  Last year, it was free.  This year.... you have to pay 24 cents a packet.

via GIPHY

I know.  Tragic.

All you need to know is you need a general idea of what ingredients you need. Butter, cereal,  a seasoning packet, and other mixy stuff.    If you look at the seasoning packet recipe, they tell you to use six tablespoons of butter with the packet, and then you have three kinds of Chex with nuts and pretzels (they want you to buy corn, rice, and wheat varieties, but I think you already know I'll tell you that you don't have to). The mixy stuff is the part where you can use up old snacks or use your imagination.

Here's where your pantry will shine.  Don't want to go to the store to buy peanuts?  Do you have almonds, or cashews? Use those instead.  Don't wanna use pretzels, but Cheez-Its?  Go for it.  Wanna put in some bagel chips?  Have at.  Got some of those popped Wasabi Peas?  Yeeeees.   In general, I use what I  already have in my pantry.  I only went out and bought two boxes of Chex, Corn Chex and Rice Chex.    I then added in pretzels (I already had them in the cabinet), some deep fried corn kernels, some cashews left over from our road trip, and some Peanut Butter Chex I already had in the cabinet.  But that last bit I put aside for now.

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Now keep in mind, what I did with the sweet element (PB Chex) was different than the rest, so maybe hold something like that back.

Basically, nuke your butter til its melty, put in the packet, and stir all that goodness up.  Then, in a big bowl, put in your cereal, your nuts, your other goodies.  Then you mix all that together, and you bake it at 250 for about an hour.  You have to check on that nonsense every 15 minutes though, and mix it up so they don't stick together.  It's nothing major, though, just a quick toss with a spatula will work.

This would be a great time to put on a podcast.  I have a recommendation.

Anyway, after the hour is up, you have your mix in the sheet pan.  Then, what I did was sprinkled a little of the Peanut Butter Chex over the top and mixed it in.  That way you get a little bit of sweet in there, and it's not overpowering.  And, the sweet part stays sweet, and not taken over by the seasoning packet.   The outer sweet coating melts just a schosh with the heat of the rest of the mix.... yeah.  It's good.

Again, use what you want.  If you don't wanna use PB Chex, I saw they have Vanilla.  I bet you could use that.  Or, you know, whatever you want.  If you wanted to add in some Frosted Cheerios here, that would work too.

What about you? What's your go-to holiday snack?  Are you a homemade Chex Mix Fan? What do you put in there?

Mixingly yours,
Behka