Brown-Butter Party Mix with Rye Chips, Smoked Almonds & Pepitas

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The bowl-and-jar snack mix, rebuilt with one upgrade that changes everything: the butter gets browned first, so every square, pretzel and nut tastes nutty and toasted before it even hits the oven. Worcestershire, soy sauce and smoked paprika bloom right in the hot butter, then a low 250°F bake dries the whole batch to a shattering, no-grease crunch that holds for two weeks in a sealed jar.

Ingredients

• 4 cups crispy corn cereal squares
• 3 cups crispy rice cereal squares
• 2 cups toasted oat cereal rings
• 2 cups mini pretzel twists or pretzel sticks
• 1 1/2 cups rye bagel chips, broken into bite-size shards
• 1 cup smoked almonds
• 3/4 cup pecan halves
• 1/2 cup raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

• 10 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 1/4 tsp celery salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp light brown sugar

• 3/4 tsp flaky sea salt, crushed between your fingers
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 250°F (120°C) and set two racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment.
2. In your largest bowl (or a clean roasting pan), combine the corn squares, rice squares, oat rings, pretzels, bagel chip shards, smoked almonds, pecans and pepitas. Toss gently with your hands so the nuts distribute evenly, then set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Keep cooking, swirling often, for 4 to 6 minutes after it stops foaming: the milk solids will sink and turn golden brown and the butter will smell like toasted hazelnuts. Pull it off the heat the moment it smells nutty — the flecks should be amber, not black.
4. Off the heat, whisk the Worcestershire, soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, celery salt, black pepper, mustard powder, cayenne and brown sugar into the hot brown butter. It will hiss and bubble; that hot fat is toasting the spices. Whisk 20 seconds until smooth and glossy.
5. Drizzle about one-third of the seasoned butter over the mix and toss with a large flexible spatula, scooping from the bottom up. Repeat with the second and third additions, tossing 30 seconds after each — adding it in stages is the only way to coat everything without soaking the first handful.
6. Divide the mix between the two sheet pans and spread it in a single shallow layer. Bake for 1 hour total, stirring each pan and rotating the pans between racks every 15 minutes. The mix is done when the cereal sounds hollow and dry when stirred and the pretzels are deep golden.
7. Sprinkle each pan with the crushed flaky salt (and the Parmesan, if using) while the mix is still hot, then let it cool completely on the pans, about 45 minutes, without stirring. It crisps as it cools — warm mix always tastes slightly soft.
8. Break up any clumps and transfer to jars or a wide serving bowl. Sealed airtight at room temperature, it stays crunchy for up to 2 weeks.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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