Savory favorite for Christmas

According to the box, people have been chowing down on the original Chex brand party mix for more than 50 years. I remember my grandmother bringing it to us in Norfolk, Va., from her home in Raleigh, N.C. And today when I smell the mix toasting in the oven, I think of her.

It is a Christmas favorite in my house and I have made countless batches of the stuff over the past 20 years. But the thing about the mix that makes me chuckle is the fact that I have never made it precisely like the “original” recipe – one I doubt is truly original. This year the recipe promoted on the Chex website gives microwave directions first. There are also methods for cooking it in a slow cooker. The directions used to urge you to melt the butter in a 9x13-inch pan, add the other flavorings, and then dump the cereal on top. Big mistake, unless you wanted some cereal soaked in Worcestershire sauce and some pieces with nothing.

The “original” recipe also calls for bagel chips (Seriously? We are supposed to believe that in the early 1960s people were commonly eating bagel chips? I couldn’t find more than two kinds of pasta at the grocery store 20 years ago.) It also calls for garlic powder and onion powder; I’ve never used either in this recipe.

The original recipe is available on any box of Chex brand cereal you might buy, so check it out for yourself. But I still think the best part of making this savory Christmas favorite is putting your own spin on it. Two favorite additions in my recipe are Bugles snacks and Cheerios. I am not a fan of the wheat cereal in this mix, so the other cereals make up for it in volume. Former coworkers in Norton, Va. suggested addding the Bugles and Cheerios. Both win rave reviews. But to be clear: I hardly ever buy the name brand cereals, especially when I am making snack mix. The generic versions are cheaper and, in my view, you can’t tell the difference. Yes, I am a cheapskate.

And I never follow the dump method suggested in some recipes. Don’t add the dry cereal to a pan of butter and Worcestershire sauce, unless you want a soggy mess. Instead, melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds, add the Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt. Stir well and slowly add it, while mixing, to the cereal, pretzels, nuts, etc. that are in the baking pan.

My version:

Savory snack mix

3 cups square corn cereal

3 cups square rice cereal

1 cup Bugles

1 cup round oat cereal

1 cup mixed nuts (I often add extra raw pecans, if I have them on hand)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine (half a stick)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup small pretzels (I often use sticks)

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Mix cereals, nuts and pretzels in a 9x13x2-inch pan. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish for 30 seconds. Add Worcestershire sauce and seasoned salt; mix well. Pour over cereal mixture, mixing well. Bake for one hour at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes.

The original recipe gives storage instructions (airtight container). We just gobble it up at our house.