The other morning I made a big patch of trail mix. Basically for the mr for when we go camping, but that didn’t stop him from eating some, not camping, but watching tv. So you see trail mix is not just for the trail! HA
A big batch of snack for any snack related needs. This trail mix is a mixture of Chex and Cherrios, pretzels, walnuts and seeds, and dried cranberries all seasoned up with some maple and smokey and spicy chili. Sweet, savory, crispy, deliciousness. What else can you ask for when snacking on a trail mix? Nothing.
To the trail mix!
The stuff. A big ass bowl of cereal. I used Cherrios, and wheat and rice Chex. Also have pretzels. walnuts, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, maple suyrup, chili powder, melted vegan butter, and salt.
Mix together the melted butter, maple, an chili powder.
Drizzle the wet mixture all over the cereal and nuts (not the cranberries) and toss until evenly coated.
Dump the mixture onto a lined baking sheet and spread it out evenly and sprinkle with salt. Pop into hot oven and bake for 3ish minutes, removing and toss after 15. After 30 minutes, keep in oven but turn oven off and crack door. Let mixture cool in oven for 15 more minutes.
And once you pull it from the oven, toss in the cranberries .
That is it.
Now it is time for you to trail mix it up.
-C
Sweet and Spicy Trail Mix
makes about 10 cups ( a good amount to share or have on hand for a week)
5 cups plain Chex cereal (wheat (if not gluten free) rice, and or corn)
2 cups plain Cherrios
2 cups pretzels (any shape will do and use gluten free if you need to)
1 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (Optional. Adds a little more heat)
2 tablespoon vegan butter melted
1-2 teaspoons flakey sea salt
Preheat oven to 325.
In a large bowl, mix together all the cereals, the pretzels, the walnuts and sunflower seeds. In a smaller bowl mix together the melted butter, maple, and chili powder. Drizzle the wet mixture all over the cereal mixture and toss with a spatula until everything is evenly coated. Dump and evenly disputemixture onto a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
Place mix into preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, carefully removing from the oven at 15 minutes and mixing it around. At 30 minutes, keep in oven but turn heat off. Crack oven door and let mixture cool for another 15 minutes then remove and let cool completely. Once cooled, toss in the cranberries.
Eat however much you want and then store the rest on a airtight container. Should be good and crisp for a week.