Praline Party Mix

When I was trying to think of goodies that could be packaged up and mailed to friends for Christmas, I remembered seeing this version of a Chex mix and couldn't wait to try it.  

Pralines and cream is one of my top flavors of ice cream.....so I figured that anything boasting the praline flavor must be delicious.  Well, when you figure it's butter and brown sugar, what could possibly be bad about that?  And calories don't count. 

After I made the recipe and packaged it up, there was just a tiny bit left for snacking.  My mom enjoyed it so  much that she made several more batches to give to her friends and my dad's co-workers.  I lost track of how many cute treat bags she had.  Thankfully, she ended up with too much and we got to nibble on the leftovers for several days.

I have to admit, my mom's version was even better than mine - I think because she didn't use quite so many pretzels and used more cereal.  I left it the original way in the recipe - you can do how you choose.  I ended up using almonds and walnuts instead of pecans because they're a lot more affordable - and they were fantastic.  I'm sure pecans would be equally yummy, if they're in your budget.  

Maybe I should plant a pecan tree in my backyard.  I adore pecans.  When I was young, I remember my family going to my dad's work building and harvesting the pecans from some trees in the parking lot.  It was so much work to crack the nuts and pick out the meats....but definitely worth it.  

Praline Party Mix (adapted slightly from The Sweets Life)

1 (16 oz) bag of pretzels (sticks, rounds, or knots)

1 box Crispex or Rice Chex cereal

3 cups raw almonds, walnuts, or pecans - or mixture of all

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 250°.

Combine pretzels, cereal, and pecans in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt until it boils, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes, stirring from time to time (the mixture will bubble and froth).

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Pour the mixture over the cereal mix and stir until well coated.

Lay the cereal mixture in a large roasting pan or on cookie sheets and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread mixture on wax paper until cool. Store in containers with lids or zip-lock bags until ready to eat!

Linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday