My family has a thing about “nuts and bolts.” I wrote about it in my cookbook Southern Snacks. We have our way of doing it. I make a huge batch every year at Christmas for my brother and occasionally at other times of the year. It isn’t difficult to make, it has just come to signify the holidays for me. I buy all those cereals and nuts and ingredients when I do my enormous pre-Thanksgiving through Christmas grocery excursion. A nice snack mix is however a perfect little bite for anytime of year, for game watching, movie nights, scattered in bowls around the house during a party, in a picnic basket or for a road trip. In fact, I developed this recipe for my little group of ladies valiantly trying to learn mahjong. Maybe that’s why I veered a little from the Worcestershire-and-hot-sauce classic, to something ever so slightly more sophisticated. Oh, it’s still Chex and pretzels and nuts, but I’ve tossed it with a rosemary, thyme and garlic infused brown butter. Let me tell you what a hit this was. With some snack focused events coming up, I wanted to share this moreish little bite.
There is leeway here to make this your own. I like the light crispiness of corn Chex with their sultrier wheat cousin, but if you like rice Chex, go for it. I use pretzel sticks but break them in half with my finger before stirring in because I think it is easier to scoop a handful in your mouth that way. I used oyster crackers in my nuts and bolts for years to soak up all that could butter, but when I discovered mini Club crackers, I started using them and I can’t go back. They are so cute, plus those buttery crackers are a real treat. Here, I use cashews and pecans because I always find myself picking those out of any snack mix first but choose your own nuts (peanuts burn more quickly, so I never use those). Nutty brown butter shines here, and I love to infuse it with resiny rosemary and bright time, but sage would also be delicious. Pouring the hot brown butter over the herbs and letting them sit and infuse adds delicious flavor – I have found chopped herbs don’t really adhere to the cereal and crackers and just sort of collect at the bottom of the bowl. Garlic just packs a little punch. I find the salt necessary to bring out the flavors, but it is really up to you.
Ingredients
3 rosemary stalks
4 thyme stalks
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
4 cups corn Chex
4 cups wheat Chex
4 cups pretzel sticks
3 cups oyster or mini club crackers
3 cups unsalted raw cashews
2 cups unsalted raw pecan halves
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
Directions
- Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Put the rosemary, thyme and garlic cloves in a heatproof bowl or four cup glass measuring jug. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a small saucepan (light colored or stainless is best so you can see the butter as it browns). Heat over medium high heat, watching constantly, until the butter is melted. It will start to spit and hiss, then you will see brown speckles appear. Swirl the butter around to distribute the browned bits, and as soon as the butter has an even brown color and a nice nutty smell, pour it over the herbs and garlic in the bowl. It will sizzle and foam briefly, then die down.
- Combine the corn and wheat Chex in a large, deep roasting pan. Add the pretzel sticks, breaking them into smaller pieces as you go, then the crackers. Toss everything together with your hands. Add the cashews and pecans and toss again so everything is evenly distributed.
- Remove the rosemary, thyme and garlic from the butter, letting as much butter as possible drip off and back into the bowl. Pour 1/3 of the butter over the snack mix and stir to coat, then the next third and stir, then the salt and the rest of the butter and stir to coat everything well. Bake for a around two hours, stirring every thirty minutes to bring the mix from the bottom of the pan to the top and to distribute any butter. When the nuts are toasty brown and the cereal and crackers are also a lovely darker shade, remove the pan to cool. It may not take two hours, it may take a bit more.
- Store the cooled snack mix in an airtight container on the counter for up to two weeks, or freeze in ziptop plastic bags with the air pushed out in the freezer for up to 4 months.
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