A few years ago, I was lucky enough to receive two huge boxes filled to the brim with handwritten recipe cards from my grandmother Jean. There are recipes for everything, from grasshopper pie with crab sprouts, chili sauce and everything else. Long before the days of reviewing recipes online, she called the ones she liked “good” and the ones that were mediocre “good.” Whenever I want to feel connected to her, I look through these recipes for inspiration.

Recently I’ve been dreaming about her version of the classic holiday snack mix filled with Chex cereal, nuts, and pretzels, so I decided to see if I could scavenge the original recipe card. No luck! I called my mother and asked her to do a search, but she also came up empty handed. Fortunately, I have three sisters; One of them might have the secret to the family’s favorite snack mix.

Wrong, I’ve struck again. But once we all had the snack mix in mind, some semblance of a recipe began to take shape. As the youngest member of my immediate family, my strongest memory of the mix was Cheerios, not something found in your standard. snack mix. My older sister Katie loved Brazil nuts. My mother remembered that pretzels had to be a specific shape.

After some trial, error, and experimentation, I reverse-engineered the snack mix we collectively loved. Funny enough, about two weeks after finishing this recipe, I found my grandmother’s handwritten recipe card for a snack mix, slipped into her copy of Proven Toll House Recipesbut he didn’t have the style we all loved. Turns out she had to riff a little each time she put it together, which makes it even more special!

How to Make My Grandma Jean’s Snack Mix

For 20 cups, or approximately 20 servings, you will need:

• 8 cups (12 to 13 ounces) Rice Chex cereal

• 4 cups (8 ounces) Chex wheat cereal

• 3 cups (3 ounces) Cheerios

• 2 cups (4 ounces) thin pretzel sticks, broken in half if necessary

• 2 cans (10.3 ounces) lightly salted mixed nuts (about 4 cups)

• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 3 to 4 dashes of hot sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot)

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line 2 wide-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a very large bowl, combine Chex cereal, Cheerios, pretzels and nut mixture. Gently stir the mixture to evenly distribute the ingredients, taking care not to crush the cereal. If you have gloves, wear them.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat and add Worcestershire, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder and hot sauce. Whisk to combine, then let cool slightly. Pour the butter mixture all over the snack mixture and use your hands to gently mix until all the cereal is evenly coated.

Divide the snack mixture evenly between the prepared baking sheets and smooth it into an even layer. Cook the snack mixture for 2 hours, rotating the pans between the two racks and stirring halfway through cooking. It will be toasted and fragrant. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.

Once cooled and crispy, the snack mix can be stored in an airtight container for 1 week at room temperature. For longer storage, transfer to an airtight freezer-safe bag and store for up to 1 month.

Edit this recipe

Use this recipe as a guide. That’s a lot of snack mix, but it will be gobbled up in no time. If you want to make a smaller quantity, simply halve the recipe and use a baking sheet.

Feel free to stick to all Rice Chex or mix it up with the addition of Cheerios and Wheat Chex. For mix-ins, I prefer pretzel sticks since that’s what my grandmother always used, but any shape will do. Do you have children? Add some of their favorite crackers. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on the butter or seasoning salt!

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