Gluten Free Nuts and Bolts

Nuts and Bolts is a recipe that once graced the back of the Cherrios Cereal box. It was a special treat to make for the holidays and of course I proudly made it at Christmas time. I was feeling nostalgic the other day and my son Stephen and I decided to make it again. But,  I wanted it to be Gluten Free and more flavorful than the original recipe. Like it's sister recipe, Chex Mix, it does include Chex Cereal and I used Rice and Corn Chex but not the Wheat Chex.  It also includes Pretzels, which are now easy to find Gluten Free and we added Pecans and left out the Cheese Crackers.  We used a bit less Butter and upped the amount of Worcestershire Sauce and doubled the Garlic and Onion Powder. We also used a small amount of Lawry's Seasoned Salt as we used unsalted Butter. Oh my, it was so good!  Not just for nostalgic reasons, it was delicious. So, I promptly made some more to give as gifts. It's about time I brought this recipe back for Christmas, or anytime!

Gluten Free Nuts and Bolts

3/4 - 1 cup unsalted Butter

1 1/2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder

2 teaspoons Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Celery Salt

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt (omit if using Salted Butter)

3 cups Corn Chex

3 cups Rice Chex

2 cups Cheerios

2 cups Pretzel Sticks

1/2 cup Pecans

Heat oven to 250 degrees.  In a large bowl, put in the Corn Chex, Rice Chex, Cheerios, Pretzel Sticks and Pecans.  Then in a small frying pan, melt the Butter and then add in the Garlic Powder and Onion Powder, Celery Salt and Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Turn off heat and mix thoroughly.  Pour over the Cereal Mixture and toss with a big spoon.  

Pour the mixture onto 2 half sheet baking pans. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely before putting into tins or plastic bags or serve.

Five Element Analysis

There are so many ingredients in this snack mix that you know that several elements will be present. The Butter, Garlic and Onion Powder and Rice Chex contribute the Metal Element.  The Water Element is present in the Pecans, Worcestershire Sauce and Salts. The Earth Element shows up in the Corn Chex. The Pretzels add even more Earth as they are made of Potato Starch and Tapioca Starch along with Rice Flour so a little more Metal. Because all the cereal is so crispy and you bake this snack, I think the Fire Element is present too. So, only the Wood Element is missing so be sure to add some vegetables later in the day.