The Story Behind Our Valentine’s Mix

The Valentine’s before Adam and I got married, I was searching for a fun treat to make with my little sous chef, Abbie. Here were my criteria:

  • Cute
  • Good for gifting
  • Super tasty
  • Easy enough for a 3 year-old to help with most of the steps

After scouring Pinterest for inspiration, I found several Valentine’s versions of Muddy Buddies, but none had quite everything I wanted, so I pulled what I loved from what I found and we made our own version of the perfect Valentine’s Snack Mix! And of course Abbie had to add her signature touch with the mini marshmallows. She LOVES her mini marshmallows. 

Flash forward 2 years later and now we have a 5 year-old! Thankfully she still loves being my little helper in the kitchen – especially if M&M’s and marshmallows are involved. I think making this mix together and delivering it to friends will need to be a Valentine’s tradition of ours. 

Mix, mix, mix!

Yes, the entire bag of sprinkles was necessary.

One for the mix, one for me, one for the mix…

What You’ll Need

Some of the ingredients for this treat are best scouted for and may not be carried at your local grocery store, so I’m linking a few of the products I recommend here to make things a bit easier!

 

  • Valentine’s Sprinkles – THIS ASSORTMENT is adorable! And all of the sprinkles are made soft to chew, so you won’t be breaking your teeth on any surprise rock-solid crunchies!
  • Rice Chex
  • White Melting Wafers
  • Pink Strawberry-Flavored Melting Wafers – Again, these aren’t always at a typical grocery store, so I recommend buying THESE in advance!
  • Valentine’s M&M’s – If your family is anything like ours THIS 3-PACK is the way to go. M&M’s disappear quickly around here!
  • Mini Marshmallows
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Cute String for Gifting – I’m a sucker for little details, and THIS PINK TWINE has my heart!

Getting it Just Right

I loved the idea of mixing vanilla and strawberry flavors not only because it sounded tasty, but also because I think the pink and white color combo aesthetically makes this mix even more fun and Valentine’s-y! After we had the basic recipe figured out for the Chex portion of the mix, we basically just tossed in everything else that fit our fancy: Valentine’s M&M’s, mini marshmallows, and LOTS of festive sprinkles! If you end up making this mix, have fun with whatever add-ins you want! This Chex mix is your oyster!

One of the best things about this mix is that it doubles as a decoration if you leave it out in a cute bowl for everyone to snack on as they pass by (decorating with food is how we roll around here). We decided to package up little baggies of the mix in clear bags with some cute string and made deliveries to some friends! 

Make it Your Own!

I think this mix would be so fun to switch up for different holidays and celebrations! I would simply swap the melting wafers with whichever colors coordinate with your celebration and then switch up your mix-ins to match. For example, red & green for Christmas, school colors for graduation parties, or team colors for sporting events! The possibilities are endless!

If you do give this a try, I’d love to see! Feel free to tag me on Insta (@ashlynnjolee) and let me know how it went in the comments below!

Hope you have a Happy Valentine’s, and happy snacking!

 

With love,

The Grows

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Strawberries & Cream Valentine’s Chex Mix

Ashlynn Grow
I bet you've never seen a cuter snack mix. It's pink, loaded with our favorite sweet mix-ins, and complete with adorable sprinkles - need I say more? If you're looking for the perfect treat for Valentine's gifting and get togethers, this is it! Warning: extremely addictive!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Resting time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 10

Ingredients
  

  • 6 c Rice Chex cereal divided
  • 6 oz white melting wafers
  • 6 oz strawberry flavored pink melting wafers
  • 1/2 c powdered sugar
  • 1/2 c strawberry cake mix heat treated (see notes below)
  • 1 c Valentine's M&M's
  • 1 c mini marshmallows
  • 3 Tbsp Valentine's sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • Divide the Chex cereal between two medium-sized mixing bowls (3 cups in each).
  • Add the white melting wafers to a microwave-safe bowl and melt according to package directions.
  • Pour the melted white wafers over the Chex in one of the bowls and quickly (but gently!) fold and stir until all of the cereal is evenly coated, being careful not to crush your cereal.
  • Repeat Steps 2 and 3 with the pink melting wafers and the remaining Chex in the other bowl.
  • To the bowl of white-coated Chex, add the powdered sugar and toss to combine until well-coated.
  • To the bowl of pink-coated Chex, add the cake mix and toss to combine until well-coated.
  • Combine both the pink and white Chex on a baking sheet or in a very large bowl.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine.
  • Ta-daah! Enjoy your tasty Valentine's treat!

Notes

  • Because this is a no-bake recipe, the cake mix should be heat treated before using in order to kill any potential bacteria in the raw flour. To do this, simply spread the cake mix onto a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 5 minutes. 
  • The amounts given in this recipe are just for reference. I hardly ever measure with recipes like these! Feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your preference.
Keyword Gifts, Holiday, Snacks, Valentines