Santa Hat Snack Mix

Christmas is here!

That means stuffing your face with sugar for a whole month.  No matter how hard you try to avoid it, there are treats everywhere this time of year.  So I'm just jumping on the bandwagon and sharing another one with you.

I am loving this little snack mix! It is a little more time consuming than your typical Chex mix, but it's worth it. I made it for our second annual gingerbread party (post forthcoming) and it was a big hit with all of the already sugared-up guests. 

The best part is the little Santa hats. They're made from Caramel Bugles (didn't even know they existed until I found this recipe) dipped in red chocolate melts, with a few sprinkles and a marshmallow to top it all off. The Bugles have this salty sweet thing going that is awesome- I think next time I'll just eat a bowl of the Santa hats and call it a day.

After you've prepared the Santa hats and let them dry, you just pour melted white chocolate over the rest of your ingredients, mix, let dry and then throw in the Santa hats and some Christmas M&Ms. This is a great recipe to take with you to potlucks and parties since it's easy to travel with. Just make sure you don't eat it all in the car.

Thank you, Cookies & Cups, for this great idea!

Santa Hat Snack Mix

via Cookies and Cups

For the Santa hats:

• 1 bag Caramel Bugles (or regular, if you can't find them. they're typically near the ChexMix at the store)
• Red melting chocolate disks (one bag should be sufficient)
• 1 tablespoon shortening
• Mini marshmallows (just a handful is enough)
• White nonpareil sprinkles

Melt the candy melts and shortening together in 30 second intervals in your microwave until melted. As soon as everything is melted, start dipping the Bugles into the chocolate, letting the excess chocolate drip off. Let them set up until firm on parchment or wax paper.

When the Bugles are set, remelt the red chocolate if necessary and dip just the bottom of the Bugles into the white sprinkles. Then flip the Bugle over and dip the top in red chocolate and firmly press a mini marshmallow on top. Let set again on the parchment or wax paper.

For the snack mix:

• Your Bugle Santa hats (see above for procedure)
• 3 cups mini pretzels
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup salted dry roasted peanuts
• 2 cups Rice Chex
• 2 cups holiday M&Ms
• 8 oz white chocolate

Spread all of your ingredients, except M&Ms, out on a large baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Melt the white chocolate according to package directions and drizzle over the ingredients. Use a spatula to mix and cover the ingredients evenly with white chocolate. Allow the mix to dry on the baking sheet. When the chocolate is set, break the pieces up and sprinkle the M&Ms and Bugle Santa hats over the mix. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!