There is a museum in Key West, Florida, that claims to house a haunted doll named Robert.
According to the museum’s website, thousands of people take the trip to see this supposedly haunted toy every year. Part of the local legend is that being disrespectful to the doll can lead to bad luck, which is why the museum also features tons of apology letters from people who are sure they have been cursed.
As a general rule, I view legends like haunted dolls as silly stories, meant to make kids nervous while sharing them at slumber parties. I will say that I have been known to knock on wood or make a wish while blowing out candles, though. (You can never be too careful.)
I approached the warning accompanying a recipe from Joseph Schmitz of Prairie Village for “Devil’s Chex” with the same skepticism.
“Regardless, it’s the Devil’s Chex because you can’t stop eating it no matter how much your mind says, ‘No. Stop, please,’” he wrote. “The Chex does not care. It owns you now.”
That description got me. I just had to see what the Schmitz Family recipe was all about, warning or not.
Devil’s Chex
Ingredients
- 2 cups corn Chex
- 2 cups rice Chex
- 2 cups wheat Chex
- 1 cup Cheez-its optional
- 1 cup peanuts optional
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the cereal, crackers and peanuts, and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine, and then mix it well with the cereal. Spread the coated cereal mixture into a large roasting pan or onto a couple rimmed baking sheets.
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Joseph said he thought it might just be the same recipe as the one on the Chex box, but after a little Googling, I found that the Schmitzes have adjusted their recipe a bit from the original over the years.
I decided to make a half batch of the recipe, and it does brown up just a bit quicker than the full one, so be sure to keep an eye on it if you do the same.
This was very tasty, and I never should have doubted Joseph’s warnings—it got me. Despite setting the bowl out of my own reach several times, I found myself with multiple handfuls throughout the evening. It would be a fabulous companion to a board or card game night.
So, I guess I believe in one superstition after all. The good news is that this one isn’t too scary. It turns out that Devil’s Chex turned out to be downright heavenly.
This piece first appeared in print Dec. 5, 2024.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
