Classically delicious snack mix of Crispix cereal, nuts and pretzels coated in a savory spicy blend and baked to golden deliciousness.
Do you have foods that just transport you back to a memory so fast it's almost like you teleported? You're thinking of one right now, aren't you? Well this is one of mine. In my brain, a handful of Crispix mix is like buckling me in to the backseat of my family's Astro van and hooking me up to the little TV for a road trip. Straight up nostalgia.
This is a serious tangent, but I feel the need to address the aforementioned little TV. I know that at my ripe old age of 29, I am probably not in much of a position to talk about how much things have changed since I was a youngin'. BUT - when I was little, your average family van did not have fancy little TV screens that folded down from the ceiling or attached to the backs of the headrests and each person certainly did not have their own little headphone jack in the armrest or wherever it lives nowadays and let's get real, we watched movies on tapes NOT on DVD. So needless to say, a 15+ hour car ride down to Gulf Shores, Alabama was not going to be fun for my parents without some distractions for my brother, Andy, and me.
Enter: the little TV. My parents found a (12 inch?) tube TV that was just small enough to fit between the front seats of the Astro van and had a built-in VCR, and my dad built a perfect little wooden stand that would hold it in place so we could watch movies in the car - using a headphone splitter and leaning ever so slightly toward each other so it stayed plugged in. Life. Was. Good. Ziploc baggie of Crispix mix in my lap, Jim Carrey getting into all kinds of trouble because of that silly green mask, and the beautiful beach on the Gulf of Mexico in my near future. Life. Was. Good.
But back to the food! The original recipe for Crispix mix is on the side of the box (haha, I know) - but my mom always kicks it up a little bit with some extra spices and it makes it even better than the original. The chili powder and cayenne pepper give it a little kick of spice, the smoked paprika adds a subtle smoky hint, and the extra nuts are rich and salty...it's so addictive! And one of the fun things about this is that you can totally switch up the spices if there are certain things that you like more - you can make all kinds of Crispix mix variations!
Let's do this thing!
In a large mixing bowl, combine the Crispix, nuts and pretzels.
In a separate small bowl, combine the melted butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and spices.
Drizzle the butter & spice mixture over the cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated.
Transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet and then pop it in the oven!
Spread it out on paper towels to cool - and it's time to dig in!
Crispy, crunchy, nutty totally addicting goodness right there. Be careful if you sit down with the whole bowl because it's pretty hard to stop eating it.
Yummy noises await you!
Kicked Up Crispix Mix
Ingredients
- 7 cups Crispix cereal
- 10 oz mixed nuts
- 1 cup pretzels
- 3 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250° F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the Crispix, nuts and pretzels. In a separate small bowl, add the melted butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce & spices and whisk to combine.
- Drizzle the butter & spice mixture over the cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated.
- Transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool.
Love the recipe!! Can't wait to try it.
Boy oh boy!!!!! Talk about a teleport!!!! I'm ready to load up the Astro Van right now Rachel....Let's Go!
I can't wait to make this again, savory, spicy,smoky delicious guilty pleasure! ....and by guilty I mean impossible to stop munching!
Thank you Rach! Great pictures and easy to follow directions :))
Rachel, I love your blog and it is now on my *Favorites list. Can't wait to make this with my granddaughters this weekend. You must have the coolest parents!
Thank you so much! Hope it makes lasting family memories for you too ????
(And I do have the coolest parents!)