Honey Sesame Snack Mix with Rice Crackers & Almonds

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A jar-and-bowl snack mix built on a honey-sesame glaze that bakes into a thin, glassy shell instead of a sticky one. Rice crackers, almonds, cashews and sesame sticks get tossed in butter, honey, soy and toasted sesame oil, then dried low and slow so every piece shatters. Sweet, salty, faintly gingery, and dangerously easy to keep eating.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Rice Chex or other crisp rice cereal squares
• 2 cups Japanese rice crackers (arare / kaki no tane style)
• 1 cup raw whole almonds
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup sesame sticks
• 1/2 cup raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 250°F and line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper. A low oven is the whole trick here: it dries the glaze onto each piece instead of scorching the honey.
2. In your largest bowl, combine the rice cereal, rice crackers, almonds, cashews, sesame sticks and pepitas. Toss with your hands so the nuts distribute evenly rather than sinking to the bottom.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the honey and brown sugar, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let it come to a gentle bubble and simmer 2 minutes — it should look glossy and slightly thickened, not darkened.
4. Pull the pan off the heat and stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, grated ginger, kosher salt and cayenne. Add the baking soda last and stir hard for 5 seconds; the glaze will foam up pale and airy, which is what keeps the finished coating light and crackly.
5. Immediately pour the hot glaze over the mix in three additions, folding with a silicone spatula for a full minute after each pour. Keep going until you no longer see dry, dull patches — the mix should look uniformly lacquered.
6. Divide between the two sheet pans and spread into a single, loose layer. Crowding traps steam and gives you chewy pieces.
7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes total, pulling the pans out to stir and re-spread every 15 minutes and rotating their positions in the oven. At the 30-minute stir, sprinkle on the white and black sesame seeds so they toast without burning.
8. The mix is done when the glaze looks matte and dry and a cooled piece of cereal snaps cleanly. It will still feel slightly tacky straight from the oven — that's normal.
9. Sprinkle with the flaky salt, then cool completely on the pans, undisturbed, at least 30 minutes. Break up any large clusters with your hands and transfer to jars or an airtight container.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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