Recipe: Mix

For the children, we call it simply Mix.  But all of the adults in the family refer to this stuff as Christmas Crack.  I haven't made it in several years, then came across the "recipe" scribbled on the back of an old piece of paper stuffed into my recipe binder, and haven't been able to get it out of my head since.

Mix entered my life from the mother of a dear college friend and former roommate. It is the perfect balance of sweet and salty, creamy and crunchy, and if there is a bowl of it near you, you will eat it all.

Betcha can't eat just one!

You choose your proportions.  I will give you a rundown of approximate amounts, but it's really what you like.

1 package white candy coating (bark). It's now vanilla at my grocery store, but when I used to make this we called it Almond Bark.  Does that stuff still exist?

8-10 oz pretzel STICKS

Ignore my gumby thumb.
I'm slightly double-jointed.

1 cup or so of salted cocktail peanuts

I was doubling my recipe, so I used
 this whole can.

1 bag of M&M's (not the single serving one--not sure what the ounces are because I just scooped out of my GIANT 42oz bag this time around)

About half of a 12-oz box of rice chex (hey guys, it's gluten-free!)

First, mix all of your ingredients except the white coating in a LARGE bowl.  I use my big stainless mixing bowl for this.  You can add a little at a time to make sure you've got the proportions how you like them.

Next, lay out tin foil on your counter.  Believe me, you want to do this BEFORE you've coated your crunchies in the white stuff.

Next, melt your white bark coating.

In addition to the change from almond bark to vanilla coating, there have been more changes in the white candy stuff since the last time I made Mix.  This one, I feel, is an improvement.

New and improved!

It now comes in a microwave-safe tray.  You just pop the whole thing in, nuke it for one minute, stir, then keep putting it back in for 15 seconds at a time and stirring until smooth.  For the record, I did that twice, so mine was in the microwave for a total of 1:30.  No dishes were dirtied in the process (except the spoon).

Once it's smooth, pour the whole thing over your bowl of crunchies.  You can stir it with a spoon if you like, but I find it's much easier to get in there with your hands and get that stuff evenly distributed.  Be sure to remove all rings before starting this.

Once you've got a nice even coat, pour the mix out onto the foil.  Spread it out a bit, but leave the pieces touching each other--you want to get some clusters when it's dry.

After it dries, break it into manageable sized clusters and stuff your face store in an airtight container.

Make a huge batch, because too much is never enough.  Put it in a cute cellophane bag and it's a great gift for neighbors, postal workers, teachers (although I guess this is kind of late for that)--everyone loves a little Christmas Crack.

The first one's free.