I swear by a bag of regular potato chips all to myself.

Calorie free and I'm in heaven.

Lulu, I can’t vouch for all of these, but the Ranch Pretzel Snack and Parmesan Ranch Snack Mix are very good. There are some others in this link with sweet/salty. The Ranch Fire Crackers might be good, but I’d have to hold back on the heat.

https://inspiredbycharm.com/category/recipes/snacks/

You can see the Ranch thing appeals to me. I keep an 8-oz. container of Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning in the pantry. I never buy the packets, but I think one them equals about 3 tablespoons.

Doesn't it kind of depend on tastes?

I like savory, so I use a classic Chex mix recipe, but I use mostly organic ingredients, and no peanuts. I prefer chunks of Brazil nuts and use Annie's Cheddar Bunnies instead of goldfish or oyster crackers, organic cereal and pretzel sticks. My seasoning has more Worcestershire, along with mustard and Crystal hot sauce.

Carol, I agree it really can depend on tastes.

I was going to suggest the nuts and bolts recipe, but it sounds like you've got the same one my mom has always used. She always gave it at Christmas, and everyone looked forward to it. Thanks for reminding me of it! I think i will make it for my siblings. It'll be a good memory.

Could go for the straight sweet one? Muddy Buddies

https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/muddy-buddies/

I’m looking for something that’s heavy with pecans. I often make my own wasabi peas (yum) but want to add nuts and other things, too. Wasabi spiciness usually surprises people in a nice, addictive way.

This recipe was passed around many years ago to high reviews

.

Those Honey Chipotle Pecans are a regular in my Christmas sharing.

My dad always loved it when I made and gave him either orange sugared nuts (usually pecans), or spiced nuts.

I like to make old fashioned cracker jack . I dont make it to give to anyone, just to eat. I found an old recipie in a 1920s magazine and it is wonderful. You can put any mix of nuts that you want, or none. Maybe add in toasted sesame seeds or sunflower seeds.

I had the best snack at a recent summer party: puppy chow. It was addicting. I don’t know what recipe the cook used, I see there are a few out there, I just know it involved Chex and some kind of cocoa/chocolate.

Everyone loves these. I use half the cayenne.

Spicy Pretzels Recipe (allrecipes.com)

These are always a hit with my crew

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/sweet-spicy-candied-pecans.html#tabreviews

One year for gifts, I bought good peanut butter filled pretzels (when they were a new thing and only at Trader Joe"s, IIRC) and coated them in chocolate.