White trash snack mix

White trash snack mix. Lucy Mercer/ A Cook and Her Books

 White trash is probably one of those phrases we're not supposed to say anymore.While it's not cool to call someone "white trash," like Scarlett O'Hara would refer to Emmie Slattery" (after all, Emmie did run off with the carpetbagger), it's funny to call certain foods "white trash." I think it all started when Ernest Matthew Mickler published "White Trash Cooking," a celebration of low-class Southern food.

This "white trash" snack mix is Chex cereals, cracker sticks (or "stix" if you're into cracked-up snack cracker lingo) and peanuts coated in white chocolate. Pretzels are also good in this recipe. This snack mix is addictive in that sweet-salty-chocolatey way. The recipe makes boo-koos, too, so there's plenty to share.


White Trash Snack Mix


3 cups Wheat Chex

3 cups Rice Chex

6 oz. lightly salted roasted peanuts

1 (8 oz.) package Wheat Thins Stix, Honey Wheat variety

12 ounces white chocolate bark


1. In a large bowl, pour in cereal, peanuts and crackers. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat, wax paper or parchment paper.

2. In a microwave-safe bowl, place chocolate bark. Place in microwave and zap for 1 minute at 50 percent power. Remove, and stir chocolate. Zap again for 30 seconds at 50 percent power, remove and stir. Repeat, until chocolate is completely melted. Stir until all lumps are removed.

3. Pour melted chocolate over cereal and nuts, stir to coat. Spoon mixture onto wax paper-lined baking sheet. Let cool, then store in airtight containers at room temperature.

Text and image copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer.