The good folks at Nuts.com recently challenged me to create a unique and delicious trail mix in for National Trail Mix day on August 26th. Of course I had to accept! I love nuts (I eat a ton of them every day) and I absolutely love trail mix! 

My favorite trail mixes are anything that combines a few different types of nuts, flavors, and textures. It also must contain something sweet. I consulted my pantry where I currently have no less than 6 different types of nuts to see what inspiration would strike. I eventually got inspiration from one of my favorite cuisines to create this Mexican Hot Chocolate Trail Mix.

You may be wondering what is different about Mexican Hot Chocolate. Well, Mexican chocolate, or hot chocolate, typically has some cinnamon and a hint of spice to it. I love to make Mexican chocolate brownies and cookies (recipe coming soon!) by adding a touch of cinnamon and cayenne. To get this flavor incorporated into the trail mix, I candied some pepitas (pumpkin seeds) in a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne. 

I then mixed those pepitas in with some of my favorite nuts – hazelnuts, almonds, and macadamia nuts – and, of course, some chocolate – dark chocolate chips and chocolate covered espresso beans. 

And because this is hot chocolate trail mix, I had to add some marshmallows!

I knew that this would be delicious, but even I underestimated how good this would be. The macadamia nuts are sweet with a slight coconut flavor. The hazelnuts are rich and pair perfectly with the chocolate. Then the almonds provide that classic nut flavor. 

The icing on the cake is the candied pepitas which are sweet, salty, and a bit spicy. I think the perfect bite of this trail mix is a chocolate chip, marshmallow, a couple pepitas, and a hazelnut. Oh man, it’s delish! I pretty much powered through about half of this jar while watching the Olympics this weekend. 

What makes trail mix such a fun thing to make is that you can personalize it to fit your tastes! Don’t like macadamia nuts, substitute in with more almonds or cashews. Want more sweetness, use milk chocolate instead of dark, or replace the chocolate covered espresso beans with more chocolate. Seriously, make it your own! You won’t be able to get enough of it!

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