Crunchy cereal coated with springtime-coloured chocolate and tossed with pretzels, candies, and more! This is a party mix everyone will want to snack on!
Back in December, I posted two recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen that celebrated the ease of putting together a festive and fun party snack mix. I really do think that these are the types of snacks that people love to eat at a casual get together – you know the type – a birthday party, a movie or games night, or even an occasion a little more special, like Easter or a Mother’s Day brunch.
There are two similar versions to this recipe that you might want to take a look at as well. First, there’s my Christmas Eve Sweet Snack Mix, which uses peanut butter in the chocolate mixture, and also uses shreddies cereal rather than chex. Secondly, there’s my Christmas Eve Savoury Snack Mix, which is my favourite, because I tend to go for salty and savoury over chocolaty and sweet treats.
When I first thought about posting this recipe, my immediate thought was to make it completely Easter-themed, but I didn’t want to pigeon hole the recipe into being only used at Easter time. Even though this recipe can be used at any time, and can be altered or adjusted to suit the occasion, I kept the look of this one springtime themed, so that all of the springtime occasions could be included.
Springtime for me means more than just the end of winter – which is very depressing and upsetting for me, because I absolutely love winter. I really do! But, springtime is favoured by all. Much like the New Year, spring is a time for newness – new growth, new adventures, new foods, and certainly, new recipes!
But, it also means Easter, which is a great time to prepare this recipe. You can use this recipe for Mother’s Day too. Baby showers and wedding showers are in full force in the spring. I can’t think of a better time to prepare this party snack mix then for an informal, friends and family only, baby or wedding shower.
Sunday brunches become increasingly popular in the spring. The kids that attend your brunch would love a treat bag filled with this party mix as a take-home gift. Springtime also brings with it longer days, which means more opportunities for walking or hiking. This snack would surely keep the energy level high on those longer walks.
What else is there in springtime? Picnic season starts. People love to picnic in the springtime while the weather is not yet too hot. There’s the end of the school year parties, as well as graduation parties. Change out the colours of the chocolate to match the school colours – just remember to stay away from the mini peanut butter cups that I included in my recipe.
The point is, whatever the occasion, springtime or otherwise, this party snack mix will work for you! Wilton is the go-to brand for me whenever I’m looking for melting chocolate. There are so many colours to choose from – one to match just about anything you can think of – and they melt down really smoothly and are perfect for coating the cereal used in this recipe.
I should point out that this is not a sponsored or paid post for Wilton; I’m simply stating a personal observation when it comes to different brands of melting chocolate wafers. Obviously, I haven’t tried every brand, but Wilton works well for me and has a great price point. You can certainly use your own favourite brand.
Personal preference is the key to this particular party snack recipe. You have so many choices and options, and I’m not just talking about the colour of the melting chocolate wafers you use. Think about all of the add-ins that would work well in this recipe. And, think about the event you’re preparing this party snack mix for and then go from there. Don’t be afraid to improvise and do whatever works for you and suits your personal tastes.
Adding pretzels to my mix was a no-brainer. Melting chocolate wafers are super sweet, mostly because they’re not real chocolate at all! They’re basically coloured sugar. So, the addition of the pretzels helped to cut the sweetness with the salt. It also added some much needed crunch. What else could you add? You could certainly add cheese-its, or those mini Ritz crackers. I would consider adding Cheetos and even popcorn too!
I used pastel coloured M&Ms in this mix, but you can use any M&M you’d like. If you’re not an M&M fan, then use another chocolate. Here in Canada, we have a candy-coated chocolate confection called Smarties. You could certainly use those. Or if you’re sure there’s no peanut allergies, you could also use Reese’s Pieces instead of the M&Ms.
Just use whatever inspires you or makes you feel hungry at the time. Go to your favourite bulk store and grab a cup or two of your favourite candy or chocolate and toss them in. This recipe is only a guideline; the creativity and ownership is completely up to you, Dear Reader. Just have fun with it!
I have to make mention that I used my Tala snack bags to package up this party snack mix to give to my workmates. John.e likes to toss things like these bags into my Christmas stocking and I love it! I’ve been dying to use them and I think this Springtime Party Snack Mix was the perfect opportunity to do so. Don’t you think?
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Springtime Party Snack Mix
Ingredients
- 8 cups Chex cereal, original flavour
- 8 cups Crispex cereal, original flavour
- 4 cups melting chocolate wafers, 4 different colours of your choice (I used yellow, pink, blue, and purple.)
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, divided into 4 1/4 cup portions
- 2 cups M&Ms, pastel/Easter themed
- 2 cups mini peanut butter cups
- 8 cups mini pretzels
Instructions
- For the cereal part of the recipe, you’ll be working in batches. To prepare, lay large sheets of parchment paper of your kitchen table or onto a kitchen counter – somewhere where they won’t be in your way while you work in the kitchen. You will use these parchment sheets to spread the coated cereal onto to set.
- Working in batches, one colour of melting chocolate wafers at a time, is the best way to approach this recipe. You will repeat instructions 3-4 four times until you’ve used each colour of the melting chocolate wafers.
- Add the first colour of melting chocolate wafers to a large bowl and melt until smooth and creamy. Add 2 cups of the Crispex and 2 cups of the Chex. Using a rubber spatula, toss until all of the cereal is well coated with the melted chocolate wafers.
- Pour the mixture onto one sheet of the parchment paper and spread out into a single layer to set up.
- Repeat instructions 3 and 4 using the other three remaining colours of melting chocolate wafers.
- Continuing to work with one colour of the chocolate coated cereal at a time, add each batch to a separate large resealable bag. Toss 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar into each bag. Seal well and shake to coat the cereal in the sugar.
- Transfer all of the different bags of coated cereal to a very large bowl. Add in the M&Ms, pretzels, and mini peanut butter cups. Gently toss to mix together.
- Transfer to serving bowls or place into food-safe gift bags.
- To store, keep in a resealable bag at room temperature. Will keep for 3-5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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