gingersnap munch mix
Crack that isn’t illegal and is much easier to obtain.
Holy shit, so my mom tortured me a few times during our weekly dinners by baking a churro version of Chex snack mix. I honest to hell could not stop eating it, even when my stomach roared at me to quit. Any sort of crunchy carb coated in salt or sugar renders me a wiggly mass of uselessness. I just love finger food and have no perception of portion control or appetite intuition whatsoever.
So what do I do? Make my own variety flavored with what comprises ingredients in one of my all-time favorite cookies. Go figure.
Caution: Floor is Wet Because I’m Drooling
Pretzels, Chex cereal, dried cranberries, and walnuts create the bulk of this stupid addicting snack mix. I often caught J, who usually prefers savory bites, picking fingerfuls of these sweet clusters each time he passed through the kitchen. On the evening I baked this batch up, I too milled around the dining area prepping for a guest and found myself swiping a quantity as a reward to setting one more plate or object on the table.
Gingersnap Munch Mix bulks up the Festive Holiday Cheeseboard, and during your gathering a few extra ramekins full of any remaining further spruces up your culinary spread. The simplicity of the mix is both pleasing and dangerous. Multiple batches with a constant stream of gingerbread aromas might become permanent olfactory fixtures in your kitchen.
The Path to Sugar Coma
Very easy to make, hard to resist licking your fingers between each step. If you do, wash your damn hands.
You can either stovetop melt or microwave melt the gingery sauce that dribbles and coats the Chex mix. I chose to microwave it in 30 second increments, with a solid stir between each, since the nuker is quicker. All you need is butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and a bit of salt. Only heat enough for the sauce to smooth out, take care not to burn the sugar.
Toss together the pretzels, Chex, cranberries, and walnuts in the biggest-ass bowl you can scrounge up for your cabinets. Probably the same thing you used for the stuffing. Cleaned of croissant residue, of course. Pour the sauce overtop and gently fold with spatulas, wooden spoons, or your hands if they’re soaped up and dry and all that crap. Take your time with this – each Chex nook and walnut cranny needs to be coated with the delicious sticky attire. Two to three minutes should be perfect.
Heat the oven to 350 and lightly grease, or cover with parchment, a big ole baking sheet or two smaller ones. Pour the mix onto the sheet and spread evenly. Overlap is just fine. Bake for 20 minutes, tossing a couple times in the process to evenly crisp the components. Let cool on the counter for around 10 minutes, then break apart any huge knots of awesome and maybe take a cluster or five for yourself. You deserve it.
Another fun presentation option for this snack mix is to swap out the granola on the Golden Apple Crisp Latte for a sprinkle of the munch.
If you’re one to ignore hormonal cues like I am and snack your tummy to oblivion, try portioning out a handful or two in small plastic baggies. Store some in the pantry and have your housemate, spouse, or kids hide the rest. I demanded J do that with the aforementioned churro mix since I could not remove my paws from the ziplock which contained the stuff. Maybe I just need to learn self control.
Nah. It’s the holidays. Screw that.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
A couple savory appetizers to balance the sweet:
Three Cheese Pumpkin Beer Queso
Lemon Pepper Smoked Salmon Wrapped Asparagus Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups corn chex cereal
- 2 cups pretzel twists
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a large baking sheet or line with parchment paper.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, gently melt the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and salt in 30 second increments, stirring between each. My microwave smoothed out the blend in about 90 seconds, but you may need more or less time. Let cool slightly.
- In a very large bowl, toss together the Chex cereal, pretzels, cranberries, and walnuts. Use two spatulas or wooden spoons to fold the butter mixture into the Chex combo for 2-3 minutes until everything is well coated. Spread evenly onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, tossing 2-3 times in that duration. Let cool for 10 minutes, then break apart any large chunks.
