Snack Mix

Yesterday at work all the interns were given the magazine Pillsbury Bake-Off Prize Winning Recipes. It has some of the best recipes and finalist stories from most of the Pillsbury Bake-Offs. One recipe caught my attention: Cinnamon Fruit Snack Mix by Rebecca Nurse of Waterford, PA. This recipe was from Bake-Off 42 in 2006. It is a yummy mix of cereal, nuts, and dried fruit held together with condensed milk. Tomorrow I'm going to visit some of my mom's extended family in Elk River. I wanted to bring them something yummy (really I just sit around thinking of excuses to cook or bake) so when I saw this recipe I knew it would be perfect to package up in mason jars with cute fabric between the lid and the screw-on ring.

I follow recipes to the point all day at work, so in my kitchen at home I follow my whimsy. Here's the basic outline of the recipe:

2 cups of cereal ( I used 2/3 cup each: Fiber-One Honey clusters, Honey Nut Shredded Wheat, and Chex Multi-Bran)
1.5 cups flaked coconut
2.5 cups nuts ( I did 1 cup pecan halves, 1 cup slivered almonds, and 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts)
1 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups dried fruit (I did 1 cup each: raisins, craisins, cherries)
1 (12 oz.) bag chocolate chips (Nestle makes dark chocolate chips that are insanely good, they worked great, but I think white chocolate chips would be awesome too)

Pre heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare two cookie sheets or jelly roll pans with enough aluminum foil to cover each one and lightly coat with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together cereal, coconut, nuts, flax seed, oil, spices, vanilla and milk. Spread evenly on your two prepared pans. Bake 15 minutes, mix, and put the pan that was on the top rack on the bottom rack and vice-verse. Bake 15 minutes more. Remove from oven, cool. Sprinkle dried fruit and chocolate chips over cereal mix and combine Store in an air tight container.

This makes a lot of snack mix, plan on sharing it with your family and neighbors, make it for a party or give as gifts. It really looks adorable in the mason jars with fabric, I chose a deep purple fabric with a cream damask pattern on it.