For some of us, a family holiday party without a big honkin’ bowl of homemade Chex party mix is like a tree without trimmings, a gift without a bow, Santa without a beard. In other words, unacceptable! While some can boast the ownership of original secret family recipes for a Chex-laden snack mix, a lot of you, like my family, stick to the retro recipe passed on to us by our grandmas, great-aunts and the like, sourced originally from the back of the Chex cereal box. Devoured by the bowl-full at parties and potlucks for the past 60-plus years, the addictive savory-salty-crunchy snack mix recipe has evolved over time, first with the addition of pretzel sticks and then bagel chips. The original “original” recipe the McAndrews stick to is a bit simpler, with mixed nuts being the only addition to the combination of Chex cereals and seasoned butter.

In this matter of taste and tradition, do you stick to the retro recipe or is the mix below more your speed?