Christmas Crunch Recipe Gift Idea (2024)

Christmas, Holidays, Recipes, Sweet Treats · December 19, 2013

Christmas Crunch Recipe made with Bugles, popcorn, Fritos, Crispix, nuts, M&M’s and pretzels all drizzled with a buttery caramel mixture makes a HUGE amount! This sweet and salty snack mix is a favorite for everyone!

Christmas Crunch Recipe

Where has this been all my life? This Christmas Crunch Recipe aka Christmas Crack Chex Mix was given to me by a scrapbooking friend (Hi Debbie B), a few years ago. This recipe makes a LOT, making it perfect for a batch of homemade gifts for the holidays! And when I say a LOT, I mean you’ll need one of those large foilturkey pans to mix it up into.

My friend was telling me how amazing this Christmas Crunch Recipe was and once she told me it had bugles in it, I had to have it. I even wrote it out on a scrap piece of cardstock and then tucked it away in my recipe book.

I would pull it out and gaze at it from time to time but didn’t want to make such a HUGE batch just for general snacking.

When my husband needed suggestions for gift ideas for his staff of 10, a light bulb went off! I figured I whip up this recipe, have some leftover and save me some time and stress. I already had a large supply of takeout boxes that would make for easy packaging.

Using PicMonkey, I was able to make up a few quick printable labels to stick to each gift. You can find these free printable holiday labels on my post. Which goes along with my

It’s not a huge gift, but it’s perfect for co-workers. They’ll appreciate the adorable package full of this Christmas Crunch recipe.You can also use the printable tags I made as gift tags or just stick them on a package like I did.

I used my Xyron machine to turn each label into a sticker, but you can also use a tape runner or glue stick.

How to Make Sweet & Salty Snack Mix – Christmas Crunch

Christmas Crunch Recipe

Yield: 32

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This Christmas Crunch Recipe is a sweet and salty snack mix made with bugles, m&m's and more, all covered with a caramel mixture.

Ingredients

• 10 C. Popcorn
• 5 C. Bugles
• 5 C. Fritos
• 8 C. Crispix
• 1 C. Mixed Nuts
• 2 C. Pretzels (which I totally forgot!)
• 1 pound M&Ms plain (optional)

Caramel Mixture

• 2 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 C. Butter
• 2/3 C. Corn Syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

1. Mix all dry ingredients, except M&Ms and not the Caramel mixture, into a large oval roaster. Mix and set aside.
2. Combine caramel mixture except for baking soda in a heavy saucepan.
3. Bring to a slow boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in baking soda.
5. Pour over dry mixture and stir until well coated.
6. Bake 200° for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
7. Pour mixture out onto 2 jelly roll pans, lined with waxed or parchment paper.
8. Sprinkle with M&Ms
9. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Notes

Do yourself a favor and buy one of those large foil turkey roaster pans.

Nutrition Information

Yield 32Serving Size 1 cup
Amount Per ServingCalories 485Total Fat 25gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 17mgSodium 524mgCarbohydrates 63gFiber 3gSugar 28gProtein 5g

Nutrition Information isn't always accurate.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

See Also

Roasted Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread Recipe | Little Spice Jar

Writing out the recipe, I realized I forgot to add the pretzels!

How to Store Christmas Crunch Snack Mix

This recipe is best eaten fresh and should be kept in an airtight container to keep moisture out.