Every year when I was growing up, my Aunt Ruby would make up baskets of goodies for all her extended family and I eagerly anticipated her visit each year to dig into all the delicious treats she slaved away in her kitchen to make.  Sometimes there would be cookies, sometimes her homemade summer sausage, and always  her famous party mix.

I never knew until recently why it was so much better than other party mixes until I finally asked her for the recipe and discovered her secret ingredient.  Life Cereal!!  It looks so much like Chex Cereal that it’s camouflaged and you don’t really notice it visually, but it gives a hint of sweetness to every bite that makes this buttery, salty concoction utterly addictive.

If you already have a favorite party mix recipe, try substituting in some Life cereal for part of the Chex–I think you’ll like it!

Aunt Ruby’s Party Mix

I’ve scaled down and altered the recipe a bit since her original recipe makes enough to feed an army.  If you’d like to feed an army, click here for her original recipe.

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

In a large roaster pan, mix together:
4 cups Rice Chex Cereal
4 cups Corn Chex Cereal
4 cups Wheat Chex Cereal
4 cups Life cereal
3 cups pretzel sticks
2 cups Spanish peanuts (roasted & salted)

In a saucepan, melt together:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Pour the mixture over the cereal and mix well. Bake uncovered in preheated oven at 250 degrees for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool and store in an airtight container or Ziploc bags.