Otherwise known as nuts and bolts mix (or more famously, Chex Mix), this crunchy, savory snack packs an addictive flavor punch. Making your own snack mix at home is a great way to customize the mix according to your own flavor preferences.

Many recipes call for using store bought seasoned salt mixes, such as the ones sold by Penzey’s. Those are delicious, and you can use those if you prefer, but the recipe here builds a seasoning from scratch. This of course gives you more control over the end result. If you don’t have one of the many spices listed, don’t despair, substitute!

Ingredients

• Snack Components
  • 3 cups Crispix (or generic substitute)
  • 3 cups wheat chex cereal (or generic substitute)
  • 1 cup mini pretzels such as salted windowpane or unsalted minis (or Snyder’s sea salt Rounds)
  • 1-1/2 cups Stacy’s plain salted bagel chips, broken into bite size pieces
• Seasoning Salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1-1/4 tsp celery salt
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary + 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed fine in a mortar and pestle
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 2 tsp dark brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp onion, toasted ground (Penzey’s)
  • 1 tsp granulated onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
• 6 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, stirred into melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250F.
2. Combine the cereal, bagel chips, and pretzels in a very large mixing bowl. (Note: the peanuts get added after baking).
3. Measure out all the seasoning salt ingredients and combine in a small bowl.
4. Melt butter over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in Worcestershire sauce and seasoning salt. Stir to combine.
5. Pour butter-seasoning over the dry mix ingredients while turning the bowl and gently tossing. Continue to toss the mix gently with a large soft spatula, to prevent breakage, or mix slowly with your hands (I use disposable food save gloves for this). It will take about a minute or two of slow mixing to really distribute the seasoning, as it wants to clump. But keep mixing and it will distribute nicely.
6. Spread the mix out on a baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes. Stir once during baking.
7. Remove from oven and let cool. If using, toss in the peanuts. Enjoy!