Chex Party Mix
Introduced in 1952 as a promotion to boost breakfast cereal sales, Chex Mix is the quintessential holiday snack.
Like many things in life, necessity is the mother of invention. In 1952, Ralston-Purina had a problem. It’s Wheat Chex cereal had been around for a couple of decades, but sales of Rice Chex, introduced in 1950, were cannibalizing sales of the former star performer and inventories were building up. So, their test kitchen came up with the original Chex Party Mix, widely publicized in women’s magazine of the day, as a way to get people to buy both Wheat and Rice Chex. The recipe became an overnight sensation and a staple of 1950s households for snacks, family get-togethers and evolved to become a benchmark for holiday football games and Christmas parties. The recipe was simple:
Melt 1/2 c. butter in shallow baking pan. Stir in 1 T. Worcestershire Sauce. Add 2 c. Wheat Chex, 2 c. Rice Chex, and 1/2 c nuts. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt and 1/8 t. garlic salt; mix well. Heat 30 minutes in 300° oven, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool.
Wait. No Corn Chex? That’s right. Corn Chex wasn’t invented and marketed until 1958, six years after this recipe came out. For sure, subsequent editions of the recipe included them, along with the addition of pretzels. Later versions added onion powder and celery salt to the spice mixture. When Chex decided to create and package its own recipe with a pre-made version in 1985, it included toasted rye chips to the recipe. Now, of course, the recipe blogosphere has created all sorts of permutations of this snack mix. But if you ask for the Original Recipe, even the Chex website distorts the truth. Corn Chex wasn’t in it. They also advise in their version to microwave the mix. But, of course, microwave ovens were not around in the 1950s, so that isn’t original either. Moreover, I think its a big mistake. Low and slow dry heat is what this mix needs to properly toast the cereal and reduce its moisture content for proper storing. So, no. No microwaving here. Some things just don’t require an upgrade.
This recipe is a close approximation to the recipe my mother used to make every holiday and after several years of coaxing, I finally convinced her to add more butter and more Worcestershire sauce to the recipe.
As a rule, I can’t find the rye chips on their own, but Gardetto’s Original Recipe Snack Mix, generally available in the grocery snack and chips aisle, has them in their blend along with short bread sticks and pretzels that only add to the party.
Chex Mix
Introduced in 1952 as a promotion to boost breakfast cereal sales, Chex Mix is the quintessential holiday snack.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Rice Chex
- 3 cups Corn Chex
- 3 cups Wheat Chex
- 1-1/2 cups mixed nuts (without peanuts)
- 2 cups toasted rye chips (or substitute Gardetto's Original Recipe Snack Mix)
- 1 cup mini-pretzels (like, Snyder's of Hanover Mini-Pretzels)
- 1-1/4 stick unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tsp seasoned salt (like, Lawry's)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- steak salt or celery salt for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F.
- Combine the Chex cereals, mixed nuts, rye chips and pretzels in a large mixing bowl and toss evenly distribute.
- Melt the butter in a microwave dish, then add the Worcestershire Sauce, seasoned salt, garlic power and onion powder and whisk to combine.
- Pour half the butter mixture over the Chex mix and use a spoon to carefully toss the ingredients without breaking the cereal pieces. Repeat with the remaining butter mixture.
- Lay out the Check Mix on a sheet-pan or cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Keep the mixture more or less level.
- Bake for one hour, and every twenty minutes, use a spatula to turn the mixture.
- Lay out on wax paper or paper towels and dust with the steak salt or celery salt.
- Allow to cool for an hour before putting into airtight containers.
