Everyone has their own sweet snack they like to prepare for the Christmas holiday – snacks you give out as nice gestures, desserts for dinner parties, and holiday comfort munchies. So in the spirit of Christmas, I’m sharing some great holiday treats from myself and some other great people.

I don’t remember how long ago it started, I’m guessing about eight years, but my dad started making Christmas Chex Mix. Not only was it his favorite snack (he found a way to keep an extra few jars around the house for us) but it’s what he liked to give to our family, friends, and neighbors. The first thing he told me was the recipe was on any chex mix box, but he had perfected it and instructed me to never follow the box recipe. Maybe he does have a little natural cook in him! It’s not the cheapest sweet treat, but it’s worth the extra buck. So for the first of three holiday sweets…

Mick’s Holiday Chex Mix

Ingredients:
3 cups rice chex
3 cups corn chex
3 cups wheat chex
1 cup of mixed nuts (remove the dark ones)
1 cup stick pretzels
1 cup goldfish OR Cheez It’s
1 cup of bagel chips
*go ahead and combine all these dry ingredients
1 1/2 sticks of butter
6 tsps Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
3 tsps garlic powder (or 1 Tbs! 3 tsps = 1 Tbs)
3 tsps onion powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper
10 tsps Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

Execution:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Mix seasonings together while melting the butter, then combine butter with seasonings.

Put a layer of butter-seasoning on the bottom of a baking sheet, then pour half of your mix in the seasoning and mix thoroughly. Pour the rest of the dry mix on top, then add the rest of the seasonings and mix thoroughly.

Cook for 1 hour at 250, removing every 15 minutes to mix thoroughly again. Once an hour has passed, pour your finished project on paper towels to soak up extra grease, and after it’s cooled – put it in containers! How simple is that?

Here’s my dad’s finished product..

Next, SaltwaterChef’s Snowman Poop

Snowman poop has also been known to be called Puppy Chow, Muddy Buddies, Elf Poop, or Reindeer Droppings.

Ingredients:
9 cups rice chex, corn chex, or chocolate chex (or combine all three!)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Execution:
Heat chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter for about a minute. Heating the chocolate too long might burn it so be careful. Stir, after a minute and then put back in the microwave for another 30 seconds until your mixture is smooth. Then, add the vanilla and stir one last time.

After everything is smooth and creamy, pour your chocolate decadence over your chex mix and coat evenly. Try and keep this process fast so the chocolate pieces don’t harden to each other making hard clusters! After your mix is coated evenly, pour into large ziploc bags, or grocery bags, and cover them with powdered sugar. Next, just shake until they are all coated evenly!

I didn’t get a picture of what SaltwaterChef’s looked like, but it should look similar to this! (courtesy of Life on Sugar Hill)

Feed Coleman’s Nutella, White Chocolate Rice Krispies

Ingredients:
6 cups Kellogg’s Rice Krispies
30 oz of miniature marshmallows (almost a whole bag)
6-8 oz white chocolate chips
6 oz Nutella
1 1/2 sticks butter

Execution:
Throw the rice krispies in a 9 x 13 inch dish and set aside. Combine marshmallows, butter, chocolate, and Nutella in a bowl and heat for 1 minute.

Stir and reheat for another 30-45 seconds until the texture is smooth and creamy. Once it’s smooth and creamy, pour your white chocolate-Nutella-marshmallow- butter concoction over your rice krispies and mix them in thoroughly. Once cooled, cut into squares and garnish with a little powdered sugar.

All of these are so easy you don’t need a culinary hand to do a great job. Merry Christmas everyone.

And Happy Holiday Weight,
Coleman