Ideal Chex recipe lost, then found

The world is awash in Chex mix recipes. You realize this when you go looking for a specific one and nothing else will do.

Ask Judi Olmos. She had what she thought was the ideal party mix — a few simple ingredients that turned out just right. "I made this recipe and everyone just loves it and can’t stop eating it," Olmos wrote.

But, alas, the recipe was lost. And despite the millions of Chex mixes out there, nothing she could find came close.

She sent a list of the ingredients she could remember — butter, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder in the flavorings — with Fritos, Cheetos and Bugles mixed in with the cereal squares. Then she came up with the crucial clue: It came from Hawaiian Electric Co.

If you ever lose anything that you’re pretty sure came from HECO, go to heco.com, click on the "recipe" tab and use the handy search function. I typed in "Chex mix" and up popped the recipe demonstrated by HECO employee Letitia Fujieki on the television show "The Electric Kitchen" in 2001 for an episode on holiday gifts. (If you are a Chex afficionado, go to chexmix.com, where recipes are divided into sweet, salty and gluten-free. Did you know you could make an Apple Pie Snack Mix? The universe is certainly full of possibilities.)

Olmos was so happy she mixed some of her HECO mix and sent me a bag. It is a tasty combination.

"I think that this party mix will be great for football snacking at New Year’s," she wrote. Or for any of the games beyond New Year’s, or for a New Year’s Eve party, or, as Olmos says, "any kind of gathering. It’s very addicting."

SWEET PARTY MIX

1 10-ounce package corn chips (such as Fritos)

1 6-ounce package cone-shaped corn chips (such as Bugles)

1 12-ounce box Corn Chex

1 12-ounce box Rice Chex

1/2 10-ounce package butter-flavored pretzel sticks

1/2 11-ounce package cheese-flavored puffs (such as Cheetos)

1-1/2 cups butter

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spray large, deep baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine chips, cereals, pretzels and cheese puffs in prepared pan.

In saucepan, heat butter with sugar, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce; stir until sugar dissolves. Pour over cereal mixture; mix lightly.

Bake uncovered 1 hour, mixing lightly every 15 minutes.

Cool and store in airtight containers. Makes 7 quarts (28 cups).

Nutritional information unavailable.

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Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Reach her at bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.