Party Mix - Nuts and Bolts
Cereal, Pretzels, and Nuts Bake Up for Super Munching
Party Mix which is also called Nuts and Bolts in the south is a favorite at the holidays. No matter how much I mix up, it's gone in a flash.
Everyone in the family is always glad to see me come home with Chex cereal, pretzels, and nuts. They know it means that I'm going to make Party Mix.
I've been making Nuts and Bolts for so long that I don't even use a recipe, but I'll cover the basics here for anyone who has never made this treat. You can buy a similar mix in bags now like potato chips, but it sure doesn't taste as good as fresh made. No comparison.
Homemade Party Mix AKA Nuts and Bolts
- 1 stick butter (margarine works fine too)
- 2 tsp seasoning salt (Lawry's is good but others can also be used)
- 4 to 5 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups Corn Chex cereal
- 3 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
- 3 cups pretzel sticks
- 1 cup salted peanuts
Directions:
You need a large pan with sides to make Party Mix. I use my roaster pan without the rack. Even thought the pan is large, I still have the mix heaped up pretty high. If you don't have a big pan, then use 2 smaller pans that will fit in the oven at the same time. Two 9 x 13 or so would be good if they both fit in the oven.
Put the stick of butter or margarine in the pan (or half in each of two pans) and turn the oven to 250 degrees F. Let the butter melt. Watch it though, or butter can scorch. It only takes a few minutes for the butter to melt. This is really the only critical step in terms of timing.
Sprinkle the seasoning salt and Worcestershire sauce over the butter and stir. You can also shake the pan around to get the seasonings mixed in evenly.
Pour in the cereals, pretzels and nuts in that order. Put in a small amount of the dry items at a time and stir to coat with the butter mixture.
Bake the Party Mix for about an hour and a half. It can be more or less. You want to stir every 15 minutes or so. Just gently lift the bottom items up to the top. This gets an even coating of the sauce on everything. You want to heat everything and set the butter mixture and get a light browning but no burning. Some pieces with more butter may get darker, and that's fine. You can taste a bite and see if it's crisp and tasty. That's really the best way to figure out if the mix is done.
Tips:
This is usually served cold, but it's fabulous hot right out of the oven. Give everyone a little hot sample bowl. Yum.
Then, let the mix cool. You can store Party Mix in a Tupperware container or put it in zip lock bags. I usually bag up one gallon and one quart zip lock bag with this recipe. We keep the gallon and give the quart to someone special.
With the standard size Chex cereal boxes, the corn and rice boxes are larger and the wheat box smaller. That's why I use more of the corn and rice. With these measurements (or close), I get three batches out of the three boxes of cereal. If I'm short a little on something, I just add more of something else.
Some people add other items to the Party Mix. That's fine. I know the Gold Fish crackers work out OK. Cherios tend to cook faster than the other items and end up pretty dark. Mixed nuts can be used, but the softer nuts like pecans tend to overcook as well. I find the basic (less expensive) items that I use work the best.
There are seasoning packs now for Party Mix. Those are fine, but it's easy to make your own as above. I wouldn't pay extra for a packed mix when it's so easy to go from scratch.
You can microwave Party Mix. Melt the butter in a big bowl for one minute. Stir in seasonings. Add dry ingredients gradually and stir. Microwave on high for 5 to 6 minutes stirring every 2 minutes. This is the basic recipe if you want a quickie. The mix really is much better baked slow and low. I used the microwave a couple of times and then went back to the oven method. Yes. The family could tell a difference. So, I'd suggest using the oven.
