Salty Crunchy Yumm!
Pretzel Mix is a holiday staple around the Frost household and a 5th food group for Liz!  Her mom has made this once a year, every year of Liz’s life, and we all enjoy munching it. We hope you love it too!

Preheat oven to 250°F.

In a huge roasting pan mix together gently:

2 cups Cheerios (original unsweetened)
2 cups Shreddies (original, unsweetened)
4 cups pretzels (different shapes for fun)
2 cups corn chips 
2 cups small crackers, or potato sticks
1 cup mixed nuts

Mix together in a mixing bowl and then pour over dry mixture:

2/3 cup melted butter or margarine (add more if desired; Liz’s mom will use up to 1 lb)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder, heaping
2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp seasoning salt

• Gently mix well.
• Bake uncovered for 2 hrs, stirring every 15 min to spread the flavour evenly.
• The pretzel mix will be crispy but not overly browned when it is done.

This is a very yummy pretzel mix, and there are many ways to make it just the way you want. Here are a few tips and ideas:

1. 1. If you have a bulk food store in your area (like Bulk Barn) go peruse the aisles for things that might taste good in your pretzel mix. Think salty, crunchy. 🙂
   2. The mix can be easily made vegan by substituting the butter for a margarine of your choice (we use Earth Balance).
   3. Making the mix gluten-free is also easy. 
      • Cereals like Cheerios and Crispix are wheat-free already, but you will want to double-check for any other ingredients that may not work for you. 
      • Many brands of pretzels, cereals, chip-like substances, etc will have gluten-free alternatives you can easily buy at your local grocery or bulk food store.
   4. As for nuts, if you can’t or do not want to eat them, try substituting bigger seeds (like pumpkin or sunflower) or roasted legumes like chickpeas or snap peas (not raw snap peas – think dry snack foods).
   5. Spices are a matter of personal preference. The ones in this recipe are a good combo, but you can add more or less of each of them or try some new mixtures as an experiment. 
      • If you want to do some experimental pretzel mix making, try breaking up the recipe into 2 or 3 smaller batches that can each be flavoured slightly differently. This way you can try out a few different flavours and if one of your spice combos is a dud, you have not lost much.
      • Here are a few flavour ideas:
        • Curry: curry powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garlic and onion powder, salt
        • Sweet & Spicy: brown sugar/maple syrup, salt, cayenne pepper
        • Honey Mustard: honey (or maple syrup!), mustard, salt
        • Chili Lime: lime juice & rind, cumin, chili powder, salt
        • Do a few web searches and you will find many recipes to use for ideas.
   6. Ultimately, the recipe is more of a guideline than a set of rules. Make it however you want. (Have you considered popcorn?)

We make no claim that this is a health food snack. This pretzel mix is full of lots of carb, salt and buttery goodness that definitely is a better seasonal treat than a new food group item. It’s why we only make it once a year. 🙂 Enjoy!

Tell us about your favourite pretzel mix ingredients or recipe. We may add a few ideas from others to this page for the world to enjoy!