Payday Bars
If you love Payday bars, here’s a Payday cookie bars version just for you. This easy recipe is full of peanut butter and marshmallow deliciousness and will leave you wanting just one more, that’s how good they are!
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Why we love this recipe
I have learned so many, many things from the Southern husband.
For example: convertibles are light-years better than regular cars. Few meals in life are better than crayfish steamed in Old Bay spices and chased with Dixie beer.
And Payday candy bars. This classic candy bar is filled with peanuts and caramel, and it was just crying out to be made into a cookie version.
What happened next was a 13 x 9 inch pan with a soft cake bottom layer, a marshmallow layer, topped with a crunchy peanut buttery topping. In less than an hour!
Cut them into squares and you are officially in Payday bar heaven.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substititions
- Yellow cake mix: Use any brand you like, so long as it is in a 15.25 box.
- Mini marshmallows: you can find these babies in the candy aisle of your supermarket. If you can only find the big guys, you will need about 16 of them – cut them into about 8 pieces each.
- Peanut Butter Chips: These chips hang out right near the chocolate chips in the baking aisle of your supermarket.
- Corn Syrup (not pictured): This is a thick, sweet syrup made from (yep) corn, and is also in the baking aisle. You want the light syrup, not the dark.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
Here’s how you make this recipe
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 and butter a 13 x 9 inch baking pane.
STEP 2: Mix a box of yellow cake mix with some softened butter and an egg. The mixture will look a little crumbly – that’s fine!
Pro Tip: Take your butter out of the wrapper and let it soften on a plate. That way the soft butter doesn’t stick to the wrapper.
STEP 3: Press into a buttered 9X13 pan and bake it up for 25 minutes.
STEP 4: Take it out of the oven, sprinkle some mini marshmallows over the top of the crust and bake for another five minutes.
STEP 5: Melt some peanut butter chips, a little more butter and some corn syrup in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in some puffed rice cereal and (yep!) peanuts.
STEP 4: Pour this glorious mixture over the whole pan and spread evenly.
STEP 5: Let it cool and then cut your Payday Bars into squares. Small squares. Trust me on this.
Recipe FAQs
They are usually in the baking aisle of your friendly neighborhood supermarket, right next to their chocolate chip cousins.
It can! Make it a day ahead and they will still be all kinds of delicious.
You can, and you can also use honey roasted, which is my absolute favorite variation on this recipe.
Pop your question in the Comments section below and I promise to answer pronto!
This is the third dessert in a row that I have made with yellow cake mix as a base...what does this MEAN? Probably that I should start buying yellow cake mix in bulk!
Anyway, this three-step recipe is so dang easy — honestly, the hardest part of this entire thing was cutting the final product into squares.
This is rich and dense and chewy, so do cut those squares small. A little of this fabulous recipe goes a very long way!
Want to round out your dessert?
In the summertime we love us some lemonade mint iced tea to wash down this peanutty deliciousness.
In the winter you’ll find us being extra naughty with some red wine hot chocolate!
Other sweet peanut recipes we love!
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Payday Cookie Bars
If you love Payday bars, here’s a Payday cookie bars version just for you! This easy recipe is full of peanut butter and marshmallow deliciousness!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: About 20, depending on how big or small you cut them! 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop and Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Layer One: The Crust
- 1 box yellow cake mix, 15.25 ounces
- 2/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
Layer Two: The Marshmallows
- 2 cups of mini marshmallows
Layer Three: The Peanutty Deliciousness
- 2 cups peanut butter chips
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 cup corn syrup
- 2 cups crispy rice cereal
- 2 cups salted peanuts
Instructions
Layer One
- Mix all of the ingredients, press into a slightly greased 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden.
Layer Two
- Sprinkle marshmallows over top of crust. Bake for another 5 minutes
Layer Three
- Melt chips, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in cereal and peanuts. Poor over base and spread evenly. Cool, cut into squares. Small squares. Trust me on this.
Notes
-
- Yellow cake mix: Use any brand you like, so long as it is in a 15.25 box.
-
- Mini marshmallows: you can find these babies in the candy aisle of your supermarket. If you can only find the big guys, you will need about 16 of them – cut them into about 8 pieces each.
-
- Peanut Butter Chips: These chips hang out right near the chocolate chips in the baking aisle of your supermarket.
-
- Corn Syrup: This is a thick, sweet syrup made from (yep) corn, and is also in the baking aisle. You want the light syrup, not the dark.
I made these today but added a little more marshmallows to cover the cake surface but with I hadn’t bc of how much they puffed up! It will be fine though I’m sure. I think I would add in more of something for the topping to thin it out a little bc it cooled so quickly and was thick so I did have a little trouble spreading it and wonder how evenly it will be! I grew up eating these and loved them!
Hi Jen! You are so right that you have to work FAST when you are spreading the topping. You can try adding a little more butter – a tablespoon or two – to make spreading easier. Hope this helps!
Love these bars! Still warm they are to die for, but even a couple days later they were still wonderful!
Penney! I’m so glad. :) We love them so much too!
Can these be frozen?
They can! Just let them thaw fully before you enjoy them as they are very dense (in a delicious way!)
This recipe originally appeared in a 1980 Pillsbury Sweet Success cook book, titled Salted Peanut Chews. The only difference is the original calls for 3 cups of miniature marshmallows.
Give this online recipe a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks Ann – I always love knowing where a recipe was born! These are probably my husband’s favorite treats in the entire world. :)
Love these! I cut small squares and put them in a candy paper cup and used them in s wedding cookie table! Big hit!! Thank you!
Tam! What a great idea – a wedding cookie table! I’m so glad these little cookies were part of such a special event. :)
Do the payday bars have a caramel taste?
A little bit, yes! Caramel and peanuts. :)
Oh yay, I'm so glad you liked them! I just made them again this past Christmas for a cookie exchange. They even won for best cookie, hehe…I love them! You have a beautiful blog btw!
Take care,
Amber(The Lonely Baker)
i love pay day bars! i have convinced myself that they are "healthy" since there is no chocolate :)
Wow, love Pay Day candy bars, can't wait to try this recipe!
I think they make Easter candy corn in some form or another. Pretty sure I saw some last year at Wal Mart (I hate that store, but they always have the best candy selection for whatever holiday we're celebrating).
Thanks for the recipe Kate!
Oh man — you just made my night. How will I EVER wait until candy corn season now???
Oh, my goodness. I think I have everything to make these tonight. If not, there'll be a trip to the grocery tomorrow.
Side note: You probably already know this but if you mix salted peanuts and candy corn together – wa-lah! – that Payday bar taste.