Cinnamon-Sugar Candied Chex Mix plus Pecans and Pretzels
Chex Mix with a holiday twist! Cinnamon-sugar candied Rice Chex cereal with pecans and pretzels.
Chex Mix has long been our road trip snack of choice, but it wasn’t until a few years ago when we started making it myself at home. We've made a couple of different versions, but they have always been savory. So when we got a big box last week from General Mills with all sorts of holiday goodies, including a box of Rice Chex and a recipe card for candied Chex mix (which was developed by Ali from Gimme Some Oven), it took us all of one day before we whipped up the recipe. We're already madly in love with candied pecans, so we assumed that we would be completely smitten with this candied Chex mix. We were absolutely, positively correct.
If you’ve ever made candied pecans, you’ll use the exact same method for making this candied Chex mix…
First, toss together all of your dry ingredients, then whisk together your egg whites until frothy and coat all the cereal mixture. Next, mix together the sugars and cinnamon, throw that onto the cereal, pecans and pretzels and toss again to coat everything. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes… once it’s cooled, you’ll have wonderful cinnamon and sugar-coated clumps of Rice Chex, pecans and pretzels. It’s the reliable sweet and salty mix to keep on hand for company or to give away as hostess gifts or holiday goodie bags.
The original recipe calls for cayenne pepper, which we used as written, but would probably delete it next time. The mix isn’t spicy, it just has a tiny amount of bite, but we think we'd prefer to just go for all sweet. We left the cayenne in the recipe, but noted it as optional.
Our husband said that this tastes similar to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and we do not disagree. We haven’t been able to stop sneaking handfuls of this every time we wander into the kitchen. Grab a bowl, load it up, and watch Elf over and over again!
Four years ago: Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies
Five years ago: Chocolate Walnut Fudge
Cinnamon-Sugar Candied Chex Mix with Pecans and Pretzels
Yield: 12 cups Chex Mix with a holiday twist! Cinnamon-sugar candied Rice Chex cereal with pecans and pretzels.- 9 cups (243 g) Rice Chex cereal, or any combination of Chex cereals
- 4 cups (396 g) pecan halves
- 2 cups (160 g) miniature pretzels
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cayenne pepper, optional
- 4 egg whites
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line two rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cereal, pecans and pretzels.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, salt and cayenne (if using); set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy.
- Pour the egg whites over the cereal mixture and toss with a rubber spatula until the mixture is completely coated with egg whites, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar mixture and toss again until everything is evenly coated.
- Divide the mixture between the two baking sheets and spread into an even layer. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring each pan and rotating them halfway through baking. Allow to cool completely at room temperature. The snack mix can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutritional values are based on one cup
- Yield: 12 cups
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Cook: 45 minutes
- Total: 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 9 cups ( 243 g ) Rice Chex cereal, or any combination of Chex cereals
- 4 cups ( 396 g ) pecan halves
- 2 cups ( 160 g ) miniature pretzels
- ½ cup ( 100 g ) granulated sugar
- ½ cup ( 110 g ) light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) cayenne pepper, optional
- 4 egg whites
Method
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line two rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cereal, pecans and pretzels.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, salt and cayenne (if using); set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy.
- Pour the egg whites over the cereal mixture and toss with a rubber spatula until the mixture is completely coated with egg whites, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sugar mixture and toss again until everything is evenly coated.
- Divide the mixture between the two baking sheets and spread into an even layer. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring each pan and rotating them halfway through baking. Allow to cool completely at room temperature. The snack mix can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
