Julie's Extra Special Holiday Chex Mix

Julesong's Note:

My mix is based on a recipe that my childhood best friend's mother, Mrs. Harper, had for Chex Mix. It became an annual ritual for me to call her to ask for the recipe yet again. :) This mix is so very, very yummy and decadent! Good thing I only make it once a year...

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 14 cups, a ...

Seasoning mix

• 1 lb bacon, slices (approx, up to 1/2 cup drippings) or 1⁄3; cup bacon drippings (approx, up to 1/2 cup drippings)
• ½ cup butter
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground sage
• ½ teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt , to taste
• 4 dashes Tabasco sauce , to taste

The Dry Mix

• 2 cups dry roasted peanuts
• 1 cup cashew pieces
• 2 cups pretzels (whatever shape you prefer, but small ones are easier to handle)
• 5 cups Corn Chex
• 3 cups Rice Chex
• 1 cup Wheat Chex
• 2 cups Cheerios toasted oat cereal
• 1 cup cheese nips or 1 cup goldfish crackers

Directions:

1. Fry up the bacon until it's nice and crisp. Note: for those who've asked, 1 pound of bacon (in my experience) will yield between 1/3 to 1/2 cup of drippings. It depends on the bacon you use.
2. Then place the cooked bacon in a container and reserve it for another use- it's the leftover drippings you're after!
3. Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees F.
4. Melt the butter and bacon drippings together in a saucepan, then stir in the seasonings to make a nice, buttery mix.
5. In a very large bowl, combine the mix ingredients.
6. Gradually stir in the buttery seasoning mix until the dry mix is evenly coated.
7. Spread on cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes.
8. Spread on paper towels to cool.
9. Store in airtight container.
10. Makes about 14 cups Chex mix snack.

Reviews

[Xexe]

Hello, i was reading this recipe. Let me tell you, i didn't get past step number 2 before i was running out the door to buy the ingredients for this recipe. Because the cereals that are needed for this recipe were not on sale, i kinda skimped on the cereal. i used crispix and muilti-grain cheerios. Also, i think the cashew pieces get lost in the sea of chex mix. Maybe next time i'll use whole cashews. i also doubled the seasoning mix and i didnt have celery salt, so i used celery seed instead and added a bit more seasoning salt

[Cooking Mom of 7]

Oh my goodness this is really good. I made a double batch for us to take on vacation. We had both bag finished by the second day. I've made it couple more times since. This is the best chex mix I've ever had.

[It's Good to be Queen!]

We made this and I think it was gone within a day! We left out the sage and Tabasco sauce. It obviously wasn't missed seeing how fast is disappeared! A absolute must have for any holiday party!