How to Make Sweet & Salty Trail Mix
Trail mix is a favorite snack for kids and adults. The combination of nuts, fruits and other foods makes for an enjoyable treat. Mixing sweet and salty flavors together can create an even more interesting creation. The key to great sweet and salty trail mix is choosing the right ingredients. Use these steps to create your own sweet and salty trail mix. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Choose your salty ingredients. Many recipes call for dry-roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds, almonds or cashews. Find the nut that best fits your taste. Other recipes require pretzel chunks or sticks. Traditional trail mix uses Chex cereal. You can also try Wheat Chex, Corn Chex or Rice Chex. Experiment with Cheerios as well. Whatever nut you are using, use 1 cup of salty ingredients for every 2/3 cup of sweet ingredients.
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Choose your sweet ingredients. There are many options for sweet ingredients, but the most common are chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips. You can use dried fruit in trail mix as well. Dried pineapples, mangoes, bananas, coconut, apricots and raisins work well. Use a combination of chocolate and dried fruit for trail mix assortments. Add mini-marshmallows for a different sweet addition.
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Add liquids and seasonings. While trail mix is good with nuts or dried fruits, adding seasonings adds extra flavor. Melt butter in the microwave, then toss it with the Chex cereal and unsalted peanuts. Sprinkle paprika or cinnamon on the mix. For a spicy and sweet-salty mixture, combine chili powder with assorted nuts and pretzels. Drizzle with olive oil. For sweet and salty trail mix without chocolate or dried fruit, add 1 tbsp. of sugar for every cup of nuts, or combine the ingredients and top with one can of sweetened condensed milk.
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Combine everything. If adding liquid ingredients, such as butter, olive oil or milk, bake the trail mix at 300º Fahrenheit for 30-45 minutes or until crisp. Remove from the oven, let it cool, and add raisins and chocolate chips.
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Store tightly. Always store trail mix in an airtight container. Put it in small sandwich bags for hikes, or take it in a large gallon bag for family road trips.
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Tips & Warnings
Experiment with new mixes and flavors. Use leftovers to form new types of trail mix. Combine 2 cups of leftover cereal, such as Frosted Flakes or Cheerios, with 1 cup of salted peanuts, 1 cup of chocolate chips, ½ cup of raisins and ½ cup dried fruit.
