Mom’s Nuts and Bolts

For as long as I can remember my mom has made nuts and bolts for family events. I have a big family and we always get together on special occasions. We gather and my grandmother’s house, sit in the kitchen, laughing and talking. Some of my best memories are at those family functions. My cousin Kristin and I were inseparable. We would tease my younger brother insistently and put on these ridiculous plays in the foyer that the adults would watch from the stairs. I would always know it was time to go to Gram’s when my mom was finished making the nuts and bolts. As soon as they came out of the oven, I would sneak the hot pretzels into my mouth. Later, my mom had to start adding more pretzels to this mixture because I would eat them all before we left the house. When I left to college, after a weekend at home my mom would send an entire batch of pretzels with me to share with my roommate.


I was getting ready to go to a concert in Connecticut my cousins (Kristin and her brother) this past summer and was looking for camping food for the weekend. I immediately thought of nuts and bolts. Perfect for finger food snacks but also a great throwback to a time that seems light years ago.

The Traditional Recipe

3 TBL Worchester sauce
1 cup of butter
1 TBL or paprika
1 TBL of garlic salt
1 TBL of Onion powder
3 Cups of rice chex
3 Cups of corn chex
2 Cups peanuts
3 Cups of pretzels

Bake at 250º for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.


This is great to use up leftover snacks in your pantry. When I went to the concert I added some Sunchips and almonds. I have also made batches with just pretzels (because they are my favorite).