It’s September. And you know what that means… It’s pumpkin spice season! I know I’m not alone in my love for pumpkin spiced everything. What’s that the kids say about people like me? Basic? Whatever. So I figured I’d try to combine pumpkin spice with trail mix. And you know what? It works.
I’m always on the lookout for things I can snack on at work when the late-day hangries start to creep in.
Trail mix to the rescue!
I think I mostly like it because the name “trail mix” conjures up images of some super healthy outdoorsy person sitting on a boulder, gazing over a beautiful vista during a break from their hike. Like, “Let me just set my backpack down here so I can sit on this rock and take in the scenery while snacking on my trail mix.”
But who am I kidding? When I eat it, it should be called “beige-walled cubicle mix.” Somehow, not the same.
But anyway… A little Google search pointed me to this totally yummy looking recipe for a pumpkin spice flavored trail mix that I used as my inspiration. I made a few changes, which made it decidedly less healthy than the original version. My bad. But I was pretty happy with the end result.
It’s great because it’s one of those recipes where you can dump ingredients together and just stir. Add a quick little trip into the oven to dry out the wet ingredients and toast the nuts ever so slightly, and you’re good to go.
Or if you’re feeling like taking just one tiiiiiiny extra step, you can even make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. I stumbled across this crazy easy recipe that tells you how to do that.
Also, a bonus side benefit of making pumpkin spice trail mix: Toasting it in the oven with those delicious pumpkin spice flavors makes your house smell AMAZING.
Seriously, my kitchen smells like Williams-Sonoma right now.
So now my afternoons at work are going to be a whole lot more pleasant. I have a big container of this stuff to get me through my workdays. Excellent.
Get your pumpkin spice on in snack form.
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup walnut halves
- 1 cup almonds unsalted
- 1 cup Chex cereal corn or rice - whichever you prefer!
- 1 cup unsalted pepitas
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- additional pumpkin pie spice & cinnamon if desired
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In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice.
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Put the walnuts, almonds, Chex, and pepitas in a large bowl.
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In a third bowl, stir together pumpkin puree, maple syrup & vanilla.
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Spoon the pumpkin/syrup/vanilla mixture over the nuts & cereal and add the sugar and spices. Stir until everything's well coated and evenly distributed.
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Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet and bake in a 250-degree preheated oven for 30 minutes. Stir several times while baking to prevent burning.
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After cooled to room temperature, stir in the raisins and chocolate chips and store in an airtight container.
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Optional: If you'd like to add a little extra cinnamon/spice flavor, you can toss in a little extra pumpkin pie spice & cinnamon at the end. Just a teaspoon or two of each should do the trick, but use as much or as little as you'd like.
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