Name: Cherry, Chocolate, and Orange Trail Mix
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 cup whole raw almonds; 1 cup raw walnuts , chopped coarse; ½ cup raw pepitas; 2 tablespoons grated orange zest; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon salt; ½ cup dried unsweetened tart cherries; ⅓ cup 70 percent dark chocolate chips

Why This Recipe Works

The options for trail mix are endless, but we loved the combination of fragrant almonds, meaty walnuts, and crisp pepitas—a nutrient-dense base for the exquisite pairing of dried cherries and dark chocolate. To tie everything together, we seasoned our mix with a hefty dose of orange zest, plus a touch of cinnamon to highlight the chocolate. Many packaged mixes will add cheap oil to help the seasonings adhere, but we found that stirring the seasonings into the mixture toward the end of roasting worked perfectly: the nuts and seeds came out of the oven marvelously fragrant, infused with the natural oils of the orange zest.

Before You Begin

You can substitute pistachios, cashews, peanuts, or hazelnuts for the almonds and/or walnuts, and dried cranberries for the cherries. Make sure the nuts and pepitas have cooled completely before adding the cherries and chocolate in step 3. We prefer the flavor of 70 percent dark chocolate chips in this recipe, though higher cacao percentages will also work.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread almonds and walnuts evenly over prepared sheet and bake until just fragrant, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, toss pepitas, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt together in bowl.

Remove sheet from oven, stir pepita mixture into almonds and walnuts, and continue to bake until nuts and pepitas are golden and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer nut mixture to large bowl and let cool completely, about 20 minutes.