White Trash Recipe With Chex Mix

A sweet and salty snack mix made with chex cereal, pretzels, peanuts and M&M's coated with white chocolate perfect for Christmas, other holidays or just for a sweet treat (also called Christmas Crack)!

The first time I ever had this sweet and salty treat was when my neighbor, Terri, brought it to our house for a Christmas party we were hosting.

Being the generous person she is, when it was time to pack up and head home, Terri left all the extra with me. I sampled some of it during the party but I didn't really zero in on it that night because there was so much else to eat and because I was playing hostess.

Well, the next day I nibbled on a hunk of it and after that, could NOT keep my hands out of the bowl! It's addictive!

Maybe that's why some people call this Christmas Crack!

A sweet and salty snack mix made with chex cereal, pretzels, peanuts and M&M's coated with white chocolate perfect for Christmas, other holidays or just for a sweet treat (also called Christmas Crack)!

Because it's such a perfect recipe for any holiday (just use whichever holiday colored M&M's) I wanted to make some a few months later for Easter. I couldn't get in touch with Terri so I just googled the recipe, found one that looked good and made it.

It was NOT the same as what Terri had made. Terri's recipe is PERFECT. It has the scientifically correct proportion of sweet and salty and the perfect combination of textures for complete and total palatal bliss.

I emailed Terri and asked for her recipe and she sent it to me.

Then a year went by and I didn't make it.

When I did get ready to make it, I'd lost the recipe so I had to ask her for it again. I made it. It was perfect and awesome.

Then another year went by and I wanted to make it again and… well, I'd lost the recipe. Again. So, I had to ask her for it. Again. 😬

Can you imagine how aggravated she was getting with me??

Another year went by and I needed her recipe YET AGAIN so I just searched through our texts until I found the last time she sent it to me. Then I sent her a text telling her she just almost got another request from me for her recipe but I managed to find it. Taheee....

So I decided I would share the recipe here so I would always have it and never have to bug her for it again!

And also because, now this is just my opinion, but I think this is THE BEST recipe for this treat. I've had several versions of it but I swear this one is best!

I think using white chocolate chips instead of almond bark is one thing that sets this recipe apart. I find almond bark to be a bit waxy in comparison to the white chocolate chips (or, I should say, "white chips" as I've noticed they're called now - wonder when they stopped calling them chocolate?).

I've made this with Rice Chex and Cripix cereal and I think the Corn Chex is definitely the best! And I think you have to use dry roasted peanuts, not cocktail peanuts.

I think all these little things I'm being nitpicky about are what make this recipe spectacular.

This goes by several different names: Christmas Crack, White Trash, White Chocolate Chex Mix and combinations of the same. I think Terri actually calls hers Christmas Crack but I'm not sure I love the idea of putting those two words together.

I grew up in a small, rural town and actually knew quite a few crackheads… and… there was nothing merry and bright about their addiction. So, I just decided to call this White Chocolate Trash to be safe.

Of course, I grew up knowing quite a bit of white trash too, so maybe that wasn't the best choice either. HA!

You can tailor this recipe for any holiday! Just use M&M's for whichever holiday is in season and coordinating sprinkles (the sprinkles are optional but fun for the kiddos). Or just make it with regular M&M's if you're making it for just any old regular day!

Since it's Christmastime now, I made this batch with red and green holiday M&M's and THE CUTEST Christmas sprinkles. If you look closely at the sprinkles, there are teeniney Christmas trees and stars in the mix! I picked these up at Home Goods this weekend if anyone wants to look for them.

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White Chocolate Trash

prep time: 10 mins cook time: 2 mins total time: 12 mins

ingredients

6 cups Corn Chex Cereal
6 cups small pretzels
1 16-oz jar dry roasted peanuts
1 11-oz bags plain M&M's
2 12-oz bags white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sprinkles (optional)
Wax or parchment paper

instructions

Combine cereal, pretzels, peanuts and M&M's in a very large bowl (I usually divide everything evenly between two bowls so I don't make a mess stirring).

Line two baking sheets with wax or parchment paper; set aside.

Combine white chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a microwave-safe bowl then heat and stir at 30-second intervals until chocolate is melted.

Pour melted chocolate over dry ingredients then gently fold until well combined. Spoon mixture onto baking sheets, spread to cover pans then add sprinkles on top.

Cool in the refrigerator until set. Break cooled mixture into chunks then store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Notes:

I've tried this several ways and I really, truly believe to make THE BEST batch you should use these exact ingredients: Corn Chex (not Rice or Wheat Chex or Crispix), dry roasted fully salted peanuts (not party or cocktail peanuts or low or no salt), white chocolate chips (not white almond bark).
At some point they stopped calling them "white chocolate chips" and now, I see, they're all called "premium white morsels" or "white baking chips". Just look for the white morsels next to the chocolate chips!

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