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When I bake biscuits, I always make a big batch. They’re just enough of a project (if you’re making them right, like in this Cheryl Day recipe) that it’s rarely worth it to just make a few at a time. And while I generally have a plan for how to use my leftover biscuits, a piece of advice from Day opened my eyes to a world of starchy, buttery possibilities. Nothing was ever going to be the same again.
Day and I were talking biscuits, as we often do, and she told me that one of her favorite things to do was to cube them and turn them into croutons. Crunchy chunks of biscuit scattered over a salad or a bowl of soup? Yes. Genius.
But then she mentioned her other favorite use for those biscuit croutons: the Southern Snack Mix from her cookbook, Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking. The base is essentially a classic Chex mix, right down to the cereal and pretzels, but a few clever twists give it an unmistakable Southern character.
Day’s first twist is using day-old biscuits, cubed and toasted in the oven until brown and crunchy. As they bake you’ll be tempted to reach into the oven and eat them by the handful (I know I was), but then you’ll be pulling the star away from her big debut. Day’s party mix also includes pecans, a staple at her Savannah bakery, and she lightly sweetens the mix with honey. Oh, and there are, of course, oodles of melted butter.
Day boosts the flavor of the honey-butter combination with Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, and, for those wanting a kick of heat in every handful, an optional teaspoon of cayenne powder. It all becomes a glaze that’s tangy, savory, rich, and spicy, complementing every toasty, bready, and nutty element in the mix. After a low and slow bake in the oven, you’ll be treated to a snack mix that’s an exquisite melange of textures, each bite packed with crisp cereal, malty, crunchy pretzels, crumbly, buttery biscuits, and toasted pecans and sesame seeds.
Make a double batch for your game day spread so you can scatter smaller bowls of it on every snack table among the wings, drinks, and other appetizers. That way, no guest is ever too far from a handful. No matter who you’re cheering for, the real winner will always be you for making this snack mix.
