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Homemade Nuts and Bolts



This is the recipe you have been looking for. The good old fashioned recipe straight off the box in the early 1960's or late 1950's. Homemade. Absolutely excellent, and not all that good for you - but better than some snacks!
Course Snack
Cuisine Canadian
Servings 24 cups
Author Valerie Lugonja via the Cherrios Box in the 1960's

Ingredients

  • 1 lb . butter
  • 2 tbsp . Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp . garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp . onion salt (didn't have any so I used 1 1/2tsp Vegeta)
  • 1 1/2 tsp . celery salt
  • 1 1/2 t Spike (this is not in the traditional version, but I add it because I like it)
  • 4 cups Corn Chex (available in the US, not in Canada)
  • 4 cups Wheat Chex (available in the US, not in Canada)
  • 4 cups of Rice Chex (available in the US, not in Canada)
  • 4 cups Cheerios
  • 4 cups of pretzel sticks
  • 1 box cheese nips or cheese bites

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 250° F
  2. Place butter in heavy pot; melt it while the oven is preheating
  3. Add next five ingredients and stir well to combine
  4. Combine all remaining ingredients in a large roaster, then transfer, if needed, to casserole dishes for baking (your pan can be full enough to toss, or to stir, but should not be heaping)
  5. Pour sauce over in 1/2 cup increments, stirring gently and firmly to combine each time, until all has been mixed in
  6. Bake for 1 1/2 hours; stir every 1/2 hour
  7. Store in air tight container; be sure to hide some for yourself!

Recipe Notes

The average boxes of chex each hold 10 cups of cereal. Interestingly, even the wheat chex, though the box is smaller.

The massive double box of Cheerios holds 16 cups in one bag

My 2014 batch had all of this, 2 boxes of Cheese Bits, 8 cups of Pretzel sticks and 8 cups of Shreddies; then I had 60 cups of ingredients. The one pound of butter recipe has 20 cups of ingredients, so I multiplied the sauce x 3 and mixed it up a bit. It was stellar!
I did adjust the seasonings:

3 pounds butter
6 ablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
3 tablespoons. garlic powder
2 tablespoons of Vegeta
2 tablespoons. celery salt
2 tablespoons Spike
Nuts and Bolts 2016
I used one 10 cup bag each of Corn Chex and Rice Chex,
one entire 8 cup box of Wheat Chex and one complete box of Cherrios with 16 cups, instead of 8 (this alters the balance, theoretically)
2 boxes of Cheese Nips and one bag or 8 cups of pretzels.
I doubled the sauce recipe, but added double the Worshestershire this time which I really liked! They seem to be delicious, yet again!