Sweet Bugle Party Mix
Sweet Bugle Party Mix is a wonderful blend of sweet, salty and crunchy! The best little snack to have on hand for parties or game night!
A CRUNCHY, BUTTERY, AND CARAMEL COATED MIX
Get ready to change up your snacking game with this Sweet Bugle Party Mix. It’s the ultimate sweet and crunchy snack mix. Made from Bugles, pecans, and almonds that get coated in a buttery brown sugar mixture, then baked until caramelized where they become irresistibly crunchy. Warning though, it disappears fast! Bonus: it makes a fantastic homemade gift when packaged up in festive bags or tins!
This was so good! A huge hit with everyone at church. Thank you!
– Bonnie
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I have two methods for roasting or toasting almonds and pecans:
Oven Method (best for larger batches):
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for 7–10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they turn lightly golden and fragrant.
Remove immediately and let cool—nuts can go from perfectly toasted to burnt quickly, so keep a close eye on them.
Stovetop Method (quick and small batches):
Place a dry skillet over medium heat.
Add the nuts in a single layer.
Cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant.
Transfer to a plate right away to cool.
No, corn syrup is not the same thing as high fructose corn syrup. People often confuse the two, so I get asked about substitutes quite a bit. While both are made from cornstarch, corn syrup is pure glucose. High fructose corn syrup, on the other hand, has some of that glucose converted into fructose. This is the type of sweetener most commonly found in soft drinks (source: sugars.com).
To prevent the corn syrup from sticking to the measuring cup, I like to spray it with nonstick cooking spray first before measuring out the syrup. This is also a great trick for peanut butter!
If using corn syrup still bothers you, even though it’s not high fructose corn syrup, there are other options. I haven’t tested this swap myself, but I suppose you could try agave or honey. Generally, I feel like people who usually substitute corn syrup with honey or agave are used to doing it and will know if it will work or not. Unfortunately, I am not someone who frequently makes that switch and I haven’t personally tested the switch out with this recipe. If you do try it, please let us know in the comments how it turns out, so others who may want to know can find out too.
Keep at room temperature for up to 1 week. I do not recommend freezing.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- Bugles – You can use Fritos or even Chex cereal in place of the bugles.
- toasted chopped pecans– you can swap pecans out for other nuts and if you don’t want to toast the pecans, you can skip that step.
- toasted sliced almonds– you can swap the sliced almonds out for other nuts. If you don’t want to toast the sliced almonds, you can skip toasting them.
- light brown sugar– packed
- unsalted butter– salted can be used for a more sweet and salty taste
- dark corn syrup– you can use light corn syrup
HOW TO MAKE SWEET BUGLE PARTY MIX:
Preheat the oven to 250°F. Lightly spray a large roasting pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a very large bowl, toss together the bugles, pecans, and almonds.
In a medium-sized sauce pot, add the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Place on the stove over medium-low heat and stir constantly to prevent burning.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer for 2 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over and stir often. Pour the sauce over the ingredients and stir well to combine, making sure everything is coated.
Add to the roasting dish. Bake for 1 hour, tossing every 15 minutes.
When the mix is done baking, lay it out in a single layer on parchment paper on the countertop or sheet trays. Allow to cool completely, then break it up into bite-sized pieces and serve immediately.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Party Chex Mix
- Sweet Holiday Chex Mix
- Ranch Bugle Snack Mix
- Harvest Trail Mix
- Harvest Chex Mix
- Chex Mix Marshmallow Treats
- Chex Mix Muddy Buddies
Sweet Bugle Party Mix
Ingredients
- 14 ounce bag Bugles
- 1 cup toasted chopped pecans
- ½ cup toasted sliced almonds
- 1 ¾ cups light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup (2 sticks)unsalted butter (salted can be used for a more sweet/salty taste)
- 1 cup dark corn syrup (can use light)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F. Lightly spray a large roasting pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a very large bowl, toss together the 14 ounce bag Bugles, 1 cup toasted chopped pecans, and ½ cup toasted sliced almonds. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized sauce pot, add 1 3/4 cups light brown sugar, packed, 1 cup (2 sticks)unsalted butter and 1 cup dark corn syrup.
- Place on the stove over medium-low heat and stir constantly to prevent burning.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer for 2 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over and stir often.
- Pour the sauce over the ingredients and stir well to combine, making sure everything is coated.
- Add to the roasting dish. Bake for 1 hour, tossing every 15 minutes.
- When the mix is done baking, lay it out in a single layer on parchment paper on the countertop or sheet trays.
- Allow to cool completely, then break it up into bite-sized pieces and serve immediately.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for 7–10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they turn lightly golden and fragrant.
Remove immediately and let cool—nuts can go from perfectly toasted to burnt quickly, so keep a close eye on them. Stovetop Method (quick and small batches):
Place a dry skillet over medium heat.
Add the nuts in a single layer.
Cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant.
Transfer to a plate right away to cool.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I’m rating it at five just because i’ve had a version of it at a party recently, but I have a question or seven about your recipe. Hahaha First, why don’t you bring it to a softball stage after the initial 2 minutes. That would be what like 235 to 240°? Why don’t you add baking soda? Do you know what difference it makes to use dark or light corn syrup? Yours is the only recipe I’ve seen using dark. Thanks. I’m gonna make an amalgamation of recipes I think because I think the baking soda and the softball matter. A lot of people make that Christmas crack which is like saltine crackers and then caramel on the top but the one thing I do know is if you don’t bring it to softball stage it can remain very sticky. And then, if you use the quarter teaspoon of baking soda, it just makes it lighter and not such a hard tooth cracking crunch. It makes it a little more like a peanut brittle texture because it puts air bubbles in there. Lastly, you should try adding a teaspoon ofvanilla after it comes off the stove, it just really adds a richness and roundness to the flavor and kinda takes off the bitterness that caramel can sometimes have. But I’m curious about your thinking behind it.
This was so good! A huge hit with everyone at church. Thank you!