Churro Chex Mix

Cinnamon just may be my favorite spice. Last summer I discovered Pinterest - and like the other 25 million people using the social media site I began "pinning" like crazy. I also discovered that you could search through the site and quickly typed 'cinnamon' in the search box and waited patiently for the results. Hundreds of 'pins' came up and my eye gravitated to a small picture of chex mix in a little white bowl entitled, "Cinnamon Churro Chex Mix." I've had churros. They are a delightful, little Spanish treat of fried dough dusted with cinnamon and sugar. What's not to like? Said no one ever. The 'pin' led me to a delightful little blog showcasing a manageable 5-ingredient, churro-flavored chex mix recipe. I added the ingredients to my grocery list with plans to make the simple mix ASAP. That being said, here's what I learned from making this recipe:

1. Finding cinnamon chips at your local grocery is easier said than done. I searched high, I search low, and I still couldn't find cinnamon chips in any of my local grocery stores. I started searching the Internet to see if others struggled and found out that grocery stores typically only sell cinnamon chips in the late fall/early winter season. I (of course) searched in August - not a good month to find the product on store shelves. So I waited it out and bought boxes of cinnamon chip bags at my local super Walmart (don't judge me) throughout October and November to see me through the year. They freeze great!

2. Double boiler trumps microwave. The original blogger suggested melting the chips in the microwave by heating for a minute, then stirring... heat, stir. Maybe that method worked well for her, but for me it create a 'hot mess.' Literally. Now, not only do I use a double boiler, I melt one bag of chips and then slowly add and melt the second bag. Works perfectly.

3. The amount of powered sugar used is highly inaccurate. You want to mix the melted chips evenly with the chex and use the powdered sugar mixture to coat the chex. I used at least double the amount suggested in the recipe to get the right consistency (see photos). Start off with the recipe amounts below but continue to add powdered sugar as you mix the melted chips and chex until the cereal is well coated and no longer clumping together.

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Churro Chex Mix

Ingredients:

9 cups of chex cereal (or one box)

3 cups of cinnamon chips (or 2 Hershey cinnamon chip bags) 1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Yields: 9-10 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Bake Time: No Bake

Directions:

1. Pour chex cereal into a large bowl. Set aside.

2. Combine sugars and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. In a double boiler, heat cinnamon chips and butter until completely melted.

4. Pour melted cinnamon chips over the cereal. Stir until cereal is well coated.

5. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the cereal. Toss to coat several times. Pour out the cereal onto a cookie sheet to cool. Enjoy!

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