All right my foodie friends, I can hear you sniffing at me right now. Chex Mix? Really? Well suckas, Chex Mix happens to be a) delicious, and b) filled with gluten. So put away your organic wine from the Willamette Valley and pay attention. ‘Cuz we made some gluten-free Chex Mix to help ring in the holidays and . . . gluten-free Muddy Buddies. Oh yeah! That’s how we snack.

Since I didn’t want to sully my rep as an amazing chefs-tress (ahem), I decided to employ my family in the making of the holiday Chex snacks. First up, my husband who insists on having Chex Mix starting November 23rd and running all the way into the new year. Look at my man go!

He’s handsome, no? Luckily he didn’t have to ditch his favorite snack this year since Chex went gluten-free, and Glutino makes some amazing gluten-free pretzels and they also just added gluten-free bagel chips which are just as good as the norms. Which is why he was willing to add them into his traditional mix. (This is where I admit my better half begged his mother to bring us a bag of gluten-filled Chex Mix complete with Cheerios. You know, I love that guy but he’s kind of a Benedict Arnold.)

My committment to Muddy Buddies this year was just as simple. Using the gluten-free Corn and Rice Chex in this recipe was so easy a 5-year-old could do it. In fact, I totally made my 5-year-old make these Muddy Buddies for Thanksgiving. This is how she makes sure they’re evenly covered:

This is also where I enlighten you with our enlightened-ness: We’re a mixed religious family. And while I may connect Muddy Buddies with Thanksgiving and Christmas, clearly the Jewish half has other ideas. I mean, Sukkot has been over for like 41 days. Really.

Regardless, I think you can see how you can make rad holiday snacks while still being g-free. Just in case you don’t want to buy the box and get these gluten-free Chex Mix recipes (although you realize you have to buy the box, right?), let me fill you in on how you do it:

Gluten-Free Chex Mix

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups gluten-free Corn Chex® cereal

4 1/2 cups gluten-free Rice Chex® cereal

1 cup mixed nuts

1 cup bite-size gluten-free pretzels

1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size gluten-free bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1. Heat oven to 250°F. In large bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven.

2. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

3. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Makes: 18 servings

Gluten-Free Muddy Buddies

Prep time: 7 minutes Cook time: 2 minutes

Ingredients

9 cups gluten-free Rice Chex®, Corn Chex® or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Makes: 18 servings