Chex Mix Remix

I love Thanksgiving almost as much as Christmas because it is the one time of year I can look forward to my extended family gathering together.  Our family from Georgia and South Carolina come to stay and we share lots of laughter, and LOTS of food.

We have some favorite dishes we look forward to – Mom’s oven-roasted turkey, my brother’s fried turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and canned cranberry sauce.  But we are as equally fond of our snacks as the main course.

My Mom uses her roaster pan for the turkey, while I use mine for Chex Mix – lots of Chex Mix.  We love to have it on hand to munch while we wait for the turkey to be done, and again while we await our evening turkey sandwiches.  I am not sure why we wait for the holidays to enjoy it, but maybe the rarity is part of it’s appeal.

We used the original recipe for years, but when I started making it myself, I began to take some liberties with the recipe.  Chex Mix is by nature, easily adaptable and there are many variations.  All of my adjustments are based on our own personal preferences.

I have never had a great appreciation for the wheat Chex, so I eliminated them from my recipe altogether.  I use more corn and rice Chex to make up for it.  I also often use generic cereals, as they taste just as delicious in the mix.

It is also essential to use real butter.  I know I have said it before, but there is no taste comparison and nothing melts as beautifully as the genuine thing.  If you are trying to cut calories, switching from butter to margarine isn’t really going to save you much here either- just saying. So go for the real deal.

I do NOT alter the original seasonings, and I measure them exactly.  This may seem elementary, but altering one of the seasonings one way or the other does change the entire flavor of the mix.  If you want the Chex Mix of your childhood, measure your seasonings.

I have also varied on the nuts from time to time.  I am not fond of some of the nuts in the usual mixed nuts blends, so I sometimes use a mix of just cashews and peanuts.  However, this season, I found a blend of nuts at Walmart that is delicious and perfect for Chex Mix.  It contains peanuts, pecans, almonds and hazelnuts – delightful.  But you can adjust based on your family’s favorites or allergies.  You can even make it without nuts all together and just add more pretzels or bagel chips.

The most challenging thing is finding the bagel chips.  If you are lucky, you will find them in the snack isle or the deli area of your favorite store, but sometimes they are elusive.  If I can find the “everything” bagel chips, I love to use those.  This time, I couldn’t find those, but made an inspired switch of everything pretzel thins for regular pretzels.  It adds just a little something extra.

It’s really so simply to make at home, it just requires a bit of patience mixing the blend every 15 minutes.  When you do stir the mix, take time to gently make sure every bit gets coated as best as you can.  That’s the secret to well-blended flavor.

Chex Mix makes a great hostess gift to take to your holiday gatherings, or a wonderful homemade Christmas gift, when packaged in a lovely container.

If you have any Chex Mix variations you like, I would love to hear about them and give them a try myself.

Happy munching!

AuthorMelissa JoyDifficultyBeginner